Life Expectancies
by rachael-green-bakura
Summary: The alternate story of Zyphre and Lydia. An immortal with a mortal family, and what transpires because of it. Strong sexual themes, pregnancy, death, overall depressing themes.
1. ACT I: Flight

There are few things in this world more tragic than outliving those you love, having to wander the world without them by your side. Two immortals thought they would never have to face that. They were wrong.

Zyphre was the Lord of Vampires. His mother was Turned in the early stages of his pregnancy, birthing him as a living, growing vampire. Due to this complication, he was born with the immunity to sunlight that his brethren did not have, making him sufficiently more powerful than his cousins. He could only transform into a bat, but on the flip side, he could transform at will, no matter the time of day. As for the other vampiric weaknesses, he trained for ten thousand years to overcome them, succeeding in all but the revulsion to garlic, the smell of which nauseated him and still could completely overpower him when he was in his preferred bat form. Despite being the most powerful vampire in the world, he chose to stay by the side of the woman he loved, using his bat form to stay under the guise that he was the sorceress's familiar.

Lydia Liadon was a demi-god. Born an ordinary elf, she was taken notice of by Nerull, the God of Death, and once she reached maturity she was taken as his bride. She had gotten no say in the matter. Nerull granted her sorcery god-like powers, and she was immortal as long as she remained tied to the castle. Zyphre was given to her as her personal servant, though she used him as a mix between a bodyguard and a close companion. His bat form was very useful in the outside world, as he was trusted by nothing in his vampire form, and he was able to masquerade as a familiar with ease.

For several thousand years, Lydia remained tied to Nerull's castle and lived with him as his wife. Her husband showed little, if any, interest in her, and did little to please her. In retaliation to this, she and Zyphre grew very close, much closer than even a true master and familiar. He was completely devoted to her, and she acknowledged his love with her own. When nearly a century had passed without Nerull pleasing her at all, Lydia welcomed Zyphre to her bed. Nerull knew how close they were and openly did not approve, but they were fairly certain he was unaware of their trysts. If he ever found out, Lydia and Zyphre would both be executed. With this knowledge, they could be relatively certain that he remained ignorant.

"Nerull hurt you again," said Lydia softly, touching the deep gash on his cheek.

"It's not a problem," said Zyphre uncaringly. "You know me. I'm a fast healer. He simply had to go through the mandatory you're-too-close-to-my-wife beating before he left. Which means…"

Zyphre pressed his black lips to her pale ones and kissed her passionately as she deepened it without hesitation. Zyphre pushed her onto her back, still kissing her. He was half-dressed; Lydia ran her hands down his bare back. Zyphre ran a hand up her thigh, pushing her elegant, form-fitting gown upwards. His fangs pierced her lower lip accidentally, though she did not care and the taste of blood excited him more.

Lydia broke the kiss, gazing into his wine-red eyes. She licked the blood from her lips erotically. Zyphre kissed the pulse in her neck; Lydia rolled her head up to give him more room. He kissed down her jugular, nipping lightly, not breaking the skin, though he could smell the blood racing just beneath.

He nipped down her collarbone and exposed chest until he reached the top of the strapless gown she wore. He ran his black-clawed hands up her sides and back, tugging on the material on the return journey and pulling it down. He ran his tongue around one of her nipples, drawing it into his mouth. Lydia moaned.

She raised her hips off of the bed, pushing the gown down farther. Zyphre pulled it the rest of the way off and lowered his head. Lydia gasped sharply as his tongue slid over her clitoris.

"Uhnnnn…Zyphre," she moaned as he continued to lightly tease her. "Come on, Zyphre…I want you inside me…"

Zyphre slipped his pants off and kissed her forcefully on the lips. Lydia broke the kiss as he slid in. She cried out, the sound mixing with Zyphre's moan. He began to move, thrusting slowly at first, Lydia moving against him. Zyphre tugged lightly on her earlobe with his teeth. Lydia wrapped her legs around his waist, driving him in deeper. Small noises escaped her throat. She tightened the hold her arms had around his torso.

Next thing Zyphre knew, Lydia had flipped him and he was on his back. Still impaled upon him, she moved up and down slowly, torturously, until Zyphre let out a groan that sounded more like a plea. She dropped down as low as she could without sitting on him. She rolled her hips, causing Zyphre to cry out. He endured her torment for only a few more seconds before pushing her off of him and pulling out. He moved behind her and re-entered forcefully, driving in as deep as he could. Lydia screamed as he hit the end of her passage.

Zyphre's hands moved around to the front, one of them kneading her breast, the other moving lower to play with her clitoris. Lydia only lasted another minute or two before screaming her climax. Her passage contracting around him, Zyphre cried out his own release in mid-thrust, shooting his seed deep inside.

Lydia's body relaxed; she was breathing heavily. Zyphre pulled out and rolled off of her. Lydia turned to face him and kissed him deeply. Zyphre returned the kiss hungrily.

Zyphre broke the kiss. "Stay here tonight," he said. "Nerull won't be back for a few days. He won't miss you like he usually would."

Lydia smiled. "Sure," she said softly. She kissed him again. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Lydia laid her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Oh, damn it, Zyphre, if I'm staying here anyway, do you want to do round two?"

"I _always_ want to do round two with you."

* * *

><p>And so life continued as normal. Nerull returned within a few days, ignorant of his wife's escapades. He ignored his wife for the most part, and openly disliked Zyphre, who treated the contempt as jokingly as he always did. Nerull physically lashed out at Zyphre a bit more often than was normal, but he could do nothing more as he could not confirm his suspicions that his bride was being less-than-faithful.<p>

After a month had passed, Lydia began to feel unwell. She was tired more often than not and according to Zyphre, she was always pale. Predictably more concerned with her health than his own, Zyphre sometimes made unnecessary detours around the castle that would take him by her bedchamber so that he could make sure she was feeling alright. Her trances were lasting longer than was normal.

Lydia got a sinking feeling in her gut whenever she acknowledged that she felt ill. Deciding that the consequences would be much worse if she remained ignorant, she chose herself as the target and cast Detect.

* * *

><p>Zyphre was alone in his bedchamber when Lydia barged through the door, slamming the door shut behind her, bolting and locking it. She was biting her lower lip and she had a slightly frantic look on her face.<p>

"Lydia…?" asked Zyphre in concern, raising an eyebrow at this strange behavior.

"Zyphre, I'm leaving this place and I'm never coming back," said Lydia frantically. "I came to say goodbye."

"What?" cried Zyphre in alarm. "Why?"

"Your life is in danger if I stay," she said.

"Lydia, you know I would go with you anywhere," he said softly. "No matter what, I'll be by your side, I promise."

Lydia was silent. "Thank you, Zyphre," she finally said in a very small voice. She sounded close to tears. She sniffed and buried her face in her hands.

"Whoa, hey, hey, hey," said Zyphre, immediately getting up and moving over to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her figure. "Calm down. It's okay. Now, what's the problem? Why do we need to leave?"

"I'm with child."

"Really?" said Zyphre. "That's fantastic! Congratulations!"

"It's yours."

"That's not as fantastic! Congratulations!" said Zyphre with no change of tone.

"Zyphre, I'm scared," she said. "If Nerull finds out…"

"You're certain it's mine?" asked Zyphre, more seriously.

"Positive," she said.

"And there's no way you can pass it off as Nerull's?" he continued.

"No," she said. "You're the only one I've had sex with in roughly the past fifty years. If I tell him I'm pregnant he'll know it's not his, and he'll guess it's yours. He might know about the child already. You know what he'll do if he finds out, maybe even when he gets home if I'm right? He'll kill our child, kill you, and only after that will he kill me. Worse, he might leave me alive. I'm scared."

"Okay, okay," said Zyphre as she buried her face in his chest. "Shh, shh, shh. We'll leave, we'll get as far away from here as we possibly can." Even as he spoke, he knew that they were empty promises. No matter how far they went, how were they to hide from a god?

As if reading his thoughts, she said, "I've just cast the most powerful defensive spells I know. I've taken every precaution to shield us from his eyes. I'm severing my ties from the castle as soon as we walk through the doors. He'll never find me, or you, or any of our blood."

"Wait, you're severing your ties from the castle?" said Zyphre in alarm.

"Of course I am," she said. "If they stayed he could literally pull me back whenever he pleased."

"But you'll lose all your power. You won't be a demi-god anymore. You'll lose your immortality," he said, almost pleadingly.

"Zyphre," she said softly. She looked up at him. Her emerald eyes were filled with tears. "Zyphre, I don't care. I'd rather spend one lifetime with you than live forever knowing that I had caused your death."

"I…Lydia…" Zyphre leaned down and kissed her, unable to put what he was feeling into words. Once they left the castle, she would be a normal, mortal elf, but he would still be the Vampire Lord. "Okay. We'll leave as soon as you're ready."

"I'm ready now," she said. "Please, let's get out of here before he comes back."

With a flutter of wings, Zyphre had transformed into a bat and had nestled on her shoulder. Lydia dried her eyes and walked purposefully through the castle with the dignity of a queen. She paid no notice of any servants and threw the front doors open, walking with her head held high.

When she had walked roughly a mile away from the castle she turned back to face it on the horizon. She spoke the formal words in Abyssal. "With these words, I sever my ties and break the spell that holds me to this place, knowing that I will never return here again." Zyphre repeated her words. He had to, or else Nerull would be able to find both of them.

Lydia swayed and stumbled as she felt nearly all of her power drain from her. She felt naked without the great magical power just below the surface. She was acutely aware of her heart beating, of the air moving in and out of her lungs. She was mortal again.

"Hey," said Zyphre, her falter not left unnoticed. "You okay?"

"Y…yeah," said Lydia. "Don't worry about it. Let's just go."

* * *

><p>New story~ I've had the idea for this for months and months and months, I'm just now getting around to it.<p>

Not too happy with the lemon. It was three in the afternoon, you see, and sex scenes is kind of a nightly thing for me. I can't focus when the sun is up. Writing in general is kind of an evening thing. But here we are after midnight and I can't find any way to fix it.

So yes. I like babies. This marks the third fic I've written which includes a pregnancy. Spencer (Lupin, Jean) noticed this as well. "Rachael, you can't DM. If you did, everyone in your world would be pregnant. Even the men." "Especially the men." "Oh god!"

So I know that in the _cannon_ Zyphre ends up dead and Lydia ends up leaving for parts unknown or being overtaken by Nerull again depending on the version Chris is entertaining at the moment. This is my story. With my characters (Chris handed Zyphre's rights over to me at the end of the campaign). But even so, this is fanfiction dot net. This is my fanfic on the future I wanted for the two of them. And now I am done rambling.


	2. Disdain

The two of them walked for days. Lydia only stopped when Zyphre made her, intent on getting as far from the castle as possible in the shortest amount of time. Zyphre was quiet, much quieter than he usually was. Whenever Lydia spoke to him, he often didn't answer right away, as if he was unaware of her speaking to him.

"Alright, time to stop," said Zyphre after several long hours of silence.

"What?" said Lydia. "No, we can get a few more miles in before it gets too dark."

"Lydia," said Zyphre warningly. "I mean it."

Lydia sighed, but stopped nonetheless. "You're being much more protective than usual lately," she remarked.

"I have to be," he said. He hesitated before saying, "Hey, Lydia…can I ask you something…?"

"Am I about to hear what's been on your mind and keeping you so quiet?" asked Lydia.

"Um…about what you said right before we left…the reason…you were…you were serious, weren't you?" he said hesitantly.

"What, about me being pregnant?" asked Lydia. Zyphre nodded. "Would I joke about something like that? Yes, Zyphre, I was completely serious."

"Right. Of course." Zyphre didn't sound completely cheerful.

"Do you have a problem with that, because let me just say that you played a very vital part in this, so –"

"No, no, not a problem per se, just…I never thought I'd…I'm actually going to be a father?" he asked a little desperately.

Lydia sighed and raised her hand to rub the ear of the bat on her shoulder. He relaxed completely as he always did. "I offered you the chance to let me go alone. I could've left and you would never have known."

"You know I would never accept that!" said Zyphre, rather fearfully. "So…you're really with child? There's really a baby in your body? A baby with my genes? This isn't some big, sick joke for your amusement?"

"Zyphre…"

"I'm just checking!" he said.

"If I could prove it to you right now, I would, but until you learn to cast detect I can't do anything," said Lydia. "I checked, twice, and made absolutely certain."

"Ohhh my gods, I'm gonna be a father," said Zyphre, more to himself. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

"Again, I could have just left, and you would never have known a thing. If you want to back out of commitment, I'm not going to stop you," said Lydia, too casually.

"Stop insinuating that I would ever be that spineless," said Zyphre. "I would never, _ever_, leave you."

Lydia smiled and rubbed his ear between her thumb and forefinger. Zyphre cocked his head towards her touch and relaxed completely again. He mentally cursed how good that felt to his bat form, wanting to continue beating himself up.

* * *

><p>"Hey," said Zyphre three nights later while they were setting up camp. "Do you even know where we're going?"<p>

"Not really," said Lydia thoughtfully. "I thought we might go to that really small town, what was it called? Lydel? Yes, that was it. Strianna settled down there."

"Strianna?" said Zyphre incredulously. "That elf girl who was with us during that incident with the puppet master?"

"That's the one," said Lydia. "You may not have noticed through your endeavors to endear yourself as little as possible to her, but we became good friends. She told me to drop by if I ever needed something, and we need a little more than something right now."

"But she hates me," said Zyphre.

"Well, you didn't make yourself exactly likeable," said Lydia. "How many times did you shout 'Make out!' to her and Ventrie?"

"As many times as it took to stop being funny," said Zyphre, shrugging.

"There, you see," said Lydia. "You're very likeable if you try, you just usually don't try. You act like a bratty, frustratingly irritating child."

"Of course I act like a bratty, frustratingly irritating child," said Zyphre. "It catches my enemies off guard when I use this light, happy, 'Hi! I'm Zyphre!' voice all the time. I mean, if I walked around speaking like –" He dropped his voice to a low, soft, toneless voice. "– 'I can kill you by thinking about it' –" He switched his voice back to his light, happy voice. "– then it would give away my intentions. That's my natural voice, by the way. Intimidating to some, but I find it rather boring."

"That's your natural voice?" said Lydia in disbelief, having never heard him ever speak like that before.

"Yep," he said. "I make an effort to speak like this at all times, so it's kind of taken over, but the voice I was born with is still there. I only use it when I'm really, really pissed off."

"It certainly doesn't hold the same charm," agreed Lydia. "But back to the previous conversation, Strianna doesn't hate you. She's just –"

"Your typical prejudiced bitch," finished Zyphre conversationally. "That whole group was. Well, except for Ventrie, but if he hadn't died he would've been too. That puppet master was going to kill all of you, I drop my act and dispatch him for you and save all your asses, but all I got was 'Ahh! Vampire! Shun!' Bastards," he said almost as an afterthought.

"Hey, hey, hey, I was grateful," said Lydia.

"You and no one else," said Zyphre. "But I'm not bitter. Trust me, after ten thousand years you learn to expect this. I say we go if you really want to. Our dear Anastrianna can deal with my presence. She owes me."

"That's the spirit," said Lydia, hugging him from behind and placing her chin on his shoulder. "Get some sleep. I'll take the first watch."

"No, no, no, you're with child, you need your rest," said Zyphre. "Sleep. I'll stay up."

"Zyphre…"

"No, go on, I'll be fine," said Zyphre. "My kind are nocturnal anyway."

Lydia sighed. "Fine," she said. "One of these days though, I will get you to sleep."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead," said Zyphre. "And once the baby is born neither of us will ever be sleeping again, so get your sleep now."

"That's not how it's going to be," she said.

Zyphre turned his head over his shoulder and kissed her briefly on the lips. "You're pale. Go to sleep."

"Spoken like a true hypocrite, vampire," said Lydia with a smile.

"I'm supposed to be pale. You're not."

* * *

><p>"Lydia? Are you alright? I've said you look pale before, but you look really fucking pale."<p>

"Y…yeah…I'm okay, I just…I'm nauseous," she said.

"Do you want to stop?" asked Zyphre. "Because we can do that."

"No, it'll pass," said Lydia. "We'll be in Lydel by this evening if we keep going and I'd like to sleep in a bed tonight."

Unfortunately, as she ended this sentence her nausea reached a peak. She dove off of the path and behind a tree, retching. Zyphre flew from her shoulder in alarm. He hovered in the air, uncertain if it would be kinder to help or to ignore that she was vomiting all over the roots of the tree.

Lydia straightened up, wiping her mouth with the back of her wrist. She groaned and leaned against the tree for support.

"Feel better?" asked Zyphre hesitantly.

"No," said Lydia. "But it doesn't matter. Come on, let's keep going."

"Wh-what?" squeaked Zyphre. "No, come on, rest for a bit."

"A bed and a bath would do me the most good and neither are obtainable unless we keep moving," said Lydia in a businesslike tone. She walked purposefully forward, staggering slightly.

Next thing she knew, she was being held bridal style by a pair of strong arms. "Zyphre, it's daytime," she said. "You'll be seen."

"So? What's anyone going to do about it?" asked Zyphre. "You say we need to keep going, for reasons I agree with. I say that you need to rest. This way we both get what we want."

"You're offering to carry me?" asked Lydia incredulously.

"Of course. However, the offer ends the second you vomit on me," he said. "Tell me if you're going to be sick, or I drop you."

"I love you, too."

* * *

><p>"Alright, Zyphre, let me down here," said Lydia as dusk fell.<p>

"Are you going to be sick?" asked Zyphre.

"No, but I can see Lydel and while I wasn't concerned about you being seen on a forest path, you will definitely be seen in a village."

"Fair enough," said Zyphre. He let her down and transformed into a bat, settling on his usual perch that was her shoulder.

Lydel was mostly closing up for the night. There were few people out in the streets. Lydia was directed to where Strianna lived by an old elven man returning to his home. She knocked on the door and waited for Strianna to answer.

"Lydia!" she shrieked happily when she saw who it was. "I should have known that only you would come calling this late!"

"I'm sorry," she said. "We've been travelling for several weeks and we happened to arrive late."

"I told her to stop and show up in the morning," said Zyphre.

Strianna narrowed her eyes at him and took a step back, instinctively shutting the door slightly. "Zyphre," she greeted coldly.

"Oh, I see how it is," said Zyphre cheerfully. "You're welcome, for saving your life, by the way."

"Lydia, why do you keep this thing around?" she asked. "He's not a familiar. You could tell him to get lost at any time."

"I don't want to tell Zyphre to get lost," said Lydia. "Especially not now. May we come in? We've been travelling for a long time."

"If I invite Zyphre in, he'll be able to come in and suck my blood whenever he wants," said Strianna.

"Tch, please, Strianna, that inconvenient weakness was the first one I overcame," said Zyphre. "If I wanted to drink your blood I would've done so already. There's no harm at all in inviting me in. Besides, I know the rules. People Lydia considers friends are off limits."

Strianna glared for a moment longer before opening the door fully and standing aside.

"Thank you," said Lydia. "May we sit down?"

"Of course," said Strianna.

Lydia fell back onto the couch and closed her eyes with a sigh. Zyphre frowned slightly and snuggled against her neck. Strianna sat across from them.

"So, why are you here, Lydia?" she asked, resolutely ignoring Zyphre's existence.

"Oh, well, isn't that a story," said Lydia. "After our little adventure I went home to my horribly bad-tempered husband, and life resumed as normal. But then something happened, and if my husband found out about it I would likely be dead. So I left him, and Zyphre and I fled before he could kill us."

"Well, didn't you marry a keeper," said Strianna sarcastically. "What did you do?"

"I got pregnant," said Lydia. "I'm due…what? Spring after next?" she asked, looking at Zyphre for confirmation, who shrugged.

"Ooh, you're pregnant?" squealed Strianna. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" Lydia nodded and smiled to show her thanks. "But there's one thing I don't get. Why would your husband be so angry that you're with child that he would kill you?"

"It's not his," said Lydia sheepishly.

"Lydia, shame on you," said Strianna, smiling all the same. "So, who's the father?"

"Uhm…"

"Hi, I'm Zyphre," said Zyphre cheerfully.

Strianna's eyes darted between the two of them in disbelief. "No way," she finally said. "Zyphre, you and Lydia had sex?"

"Are you kidding?" said Zyphre. "We've been going at it for ages." Strianna glared at him, disgusted. "Perhaps this would be less shocking and awkward if I wasn't a bat."

Strianna tensed as the vampire suddenly appeared on her couch, his arm around Lydia. "Oh, Lydia, why would you agree to do that with a creature like him? You did agree, right?" she added, suddenly serious.

"Of course I agreed!" said Lydia, shocked. "And as for why, between the three of us, my ex-husband was more than unsatisfactory, and Zyphre is really good, and really big." Zyphre smirked.

"Well, I don't like you much, Zyphre –"

"You liked me well enough before you found out what I really was."

"– but congratulations to both of you. If you abandon her, I will stake you so quickly," said Strianna. "If _you_ need a place to stay until you can get somewhere of your own, I have an extra room that you can stay in."

Zyphre rolled his eyes. "I'll sleep outside, shall I?" he said sarcastically. He transformed back into a bat and settled on Lydia's lap.

"No, but I'm putting garlic in the hall outside your room to keep you out of mine."

"Bitch."

"Monster."

"Skank."

"Abomination."

"Widow. Ee!"

Zyphre squeaked as Lydia's hand closed on the back of his neck. He cringed and scrunched his neck up involuntarily, growing very still, as Lydia only did this when he had crossed the line and was in trouble.

"Sorry about him," said Lydia pleasantly. "There will be no need for the garlic. I'll take care of him." Zyphre cringed again.

* * *

><p>"Ahh, a bed," sighed Lydia. "Thank the gods."<p>

Lydia stretched happily on the bed. Zyphre turned back into a vampire and lay on the bed next to her. He wrapped his arms around her stomach and pulled her close in a spooning position. Lydia snuggled back against his chest and sighed.

"You're wonderful, you know that?" she murmured. "Don't mind what Strianna says."

"Weren't you going to punish me for the slight against Ventrie?" asked Zyphre, confused.

"I am," she said. "Because of the baby, we won't be able to have sex for awhile. I was going to suck you off, but I'm not going to anymore."

"Wh-what!" said Zyphre. "Hold on…"

"Good night, Zyphre," said Lydia. She was asleep within seconds. Zyphre remained motionless in disbelief before laying his head next to hers, resting his chin on the top of his head, and closing his eyes.

* * *

><p>Zyphre's charming demeanor is an act. Huh. I only found this out recently. For owning Zyphre now, there's certainly a lot that Chris decided to leave out. Although when Chris said "His real voice sounds like this: 'I can kill you by thinking about it.'" it was really sexy.<p>

Is it just me, or does Zyphre remind anyone else of Inuyasha?


	3. Conversation

Zyphre woke Lydia up the next morning, or rather, his lack of presence woke her up. She shivered and snuggled deeper into the blankets, half-conscious, only to realize that he was not in bed with her. She sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Zyphre?" she called to the empty room. There was no response.

She was still very tired. Zyphre had left in the middle of the night on numerous occasions, but he always returned before she could miss him very much. He could take care of himself, and this was far from new. Shrugging inwardly, Lydia lay back down and attempted to return to her trance.

Unfortunately, she found that she could not get comfortable without him nearby. She hadn't noticed it before, but she had grown very accustomed to having him holding her every night they'd been travelling. Had she really grown that dependant of him in just two short months?

She moved her hands down to her lower abdomen. The result of how much she loved him was growing in there. She wouldn't begin to show for another four or five months, but it was there all the same. Her child. Their child. The child that was draining all of her energy and making her so tired all the time.

She finally slid out of bed, realizing the futility of trying to trance while having no idea where he was. She wasn't at all worried about him, but her body realized that his warmth and protection were not there and would not relax. She sighed in frustration and left the room.

"She lives," said Strianna happily as Lydia entered the kitchen.

"I do," she said sleepily. "You haven't seen Zyphre, have you?"

"No," she said, glancing around warily. "Why? Is he missing?"

"Not missing, exactly," she said. "I just don't know where he is and I can't go back to sleep without him, my body has just now decided."

"You can't go back to sleep without him?" repeated Strianna incredulously. "Most people would be terrified to be in the same room with him, let alone trust him enough to sleep with him nearby. And yet you need him to sleep?"

"Apparently," said Lydia, sitting down across from Strianna. "I'm not very happy about it. I'm tired."

"I still don't understand how you let him into your bed, in both senses of the phrase," said Strianna coolly.

Lydia sighed. "Well, he's not here, so now is the time to talk about him without him endearing himself in his misguided, usually havoc-causing way," she said. "To be honest, sometimes I forget he is what he is."

"How so?" asked Strianna.

Lydia shrugged. "It's not like he goes out of his way to remind everyone he's a vampire. He prefers being a bat, he doesn't have hardly any of the weaknesses that signal him out as one, and he doesn't exactly offer me a front row seat when he needs to feed," she said. Strianna shuddered. "He needs to feed, Strianna, if he doesn't he will gradually lose his powers and strength, followed by death. He always makes sure he feeds a good couple miles away from my current location, never feeds on the same person twice, and never drains anyone enough to kill them. Vampirism is only spread by repeated feedings, so this way he doesn't spread the curse and doesn't draw attention to himself."

"He's still evil," she said. "He still does terrible things. I saw what he did to that puppet master. You couldn't even tell it had once been human when he was done. It was disgusting."

Lydia shrugged again. "The puppet master threatened me," she said simply. "He sees it as his duty to protect me. He eliminates any threats and obliterates anything that hurts me. And that puppet master did hit me pretty hard."

"You were bleeding all over the grass," agreed Strianna. "But none of us can pretend that the mostly innocent little bat transforming into a six foot vampire and shredding our opponent to pieces before we could figure out what had just happened wasn't a tad shocking."

"Mm. As for him being evil, I really don't think he is," she said. "He's what society made him. He's chaotic, and when he's bored, causing havoc is the easiest way to entertain himself, but he means well. But, Strianna, he's the world's only living vampire. He belongs to neither the world of the living nor the world of the undead, and when he was growing up he was hated by both. It was only when he grew strong enough to kill anyone who challenged him that the respect happened, as well as the Vampire Lord title. I think his whole cheerful, mischievous personality is a defense mechanism. He says it catches his opponents off guard."

"But why do you love him?" asked Strianna. "He's used to prejudice. Everyone he's ever met judged him right out for being what he is. What makes you any different?"

"Well…" She hesitated. In all honesty, she hadn't judged him because she had been a demi-god when she had met him and no longer belonged to either world either, and thus hadn't chose a side of him to cast out. Strianna knew nothing of that life, and Lydia was not entirely sure how to answer, as she wanted to keep that part of her past a secret. "He never made me feel threatened," she finally settled on. "He was respectful of my boundaries and never tried to feed off me. I was intrigued by him. At the time I also thought he was kind of hot. I still think that." She smirked.

"And you're sure he didn't use some of his magic on you?" asked Strianna. "He could have done that with his hypnotic gaze or some other nonsense."

"He doesn't _have_ a hypnotic gaze," said Lydia. "That'd something that's acquired after death. Zyphre has never died, and when he does, he's gone. He won't continue to be a vampire. He's alive, Stri. He'll die just like you and me, regardless of what he is."

"Okay, but he's never done anything at all that you have a problem with? Nothing that's ever scared you?" Strianna's tone showed that she clearly thought to have Lydia cornered.

"No, never," said Lydia. "Well, that's not entirely true. The first time we slept together, my husband asked to speak to him alone the next morning. Next I saw Zyphre he had a massive bruise on his cheek. Looked like my husband had known exactly what we did and struck him as hard as he could. _That_ scared me. But he himself has never done anything. He makes me feel safe."

"The bloodsucking nightwalker makes you feel safe?"

"Mhm," she said. "I can't really explain it. He's strong, and warm, believe it or not, and I know he'd do anything to keep me safe. When Ventrie was still alive, and he held you, didn't you feel perfectly safe and content and like nothing could ever hurt you as long as you stayed like that?"

"Yes," said Strianna wistfully.

"It's exactly like that with Zyphre," she said. "It doesn't matter that he's supposed to be a dark creature that would kill you as soon as look at you. These past two months when we were fleeing, I was so afraid all the time that my husband would find us. I still am afraid of that, and I think I will be for the rest of my life. But he knew that, and he was scared too, and every night he would hold me and I felt safe. And now, wouldn't you have it, I'm exhausted and he's nowhere to be found, and I've become addicted to his presence."

Strianna shook her head. "I can tell how much you love him. I can see it in your eyes. But I will never understand it."

"Never understand what?"

Strianna jumped badly and whipped around. Zyphre in his bat form flew in through the window and landed on Lydia's shoulder, nuzzling into her neck.

"Nothing, Zyphre, Strianna and I were just having a little girl to girl talk," she said. "Where have you been?"

"I got hungry," said Zyphre simply. Strianna cringed away in disgust and fear. "It's not like I can help it when the urge strikes!" he said indignantly. "It's instinctual. I left at midnight and flew three towns over just for you, so calm down."

"How…considerate," said Strianna tensely.

"I'm glad you're back," sighed Lydia. "Your son or daughter is draining all of my energy like…well, a vampire. And I've apparently become addicted to your presence in the past two and a half months. As you are at fault on both accounts, you will help me fall asleep."

"Okay," he said. "You look pale."

Lydia smiled wryly. Zyphre transformed into his vampire form and held out his hand. Lydia took it and he pulled her to her feet. Leading her by the hand, the two of them headed towards the spare bedroom.

Strianna looked down at her drink. She felt terrible. Zyphre frightened her, he truly did, though she knew in her heart that it was simply prejudice. When she had met the two of them he had been a small bat on the woman's shoulder, playing the part of a familiar flawlessly, if not a bit more independent than a true familiar would be. He had been rude, insensitive, and cared only for himself and Lydia. When he grew bored, he found a way to entertain himself – usually teasing her about her betrothed at the time.

Despite all that, he was fiercely loyal to all of them. As a bat, he couldn't do much. He couldn't stop their capture halfway through their adventure, and when Lydia spat in the face of her interrogator and ended up raped as a result, he had been far more concerned about it than she had. He had sworn the deaths of every single one of their captors, a cute yet obviously empty threat (for what could a bat do to a building of strong and skilled men?), but in the dead of the night after they had escaped, that had happened inexplicably. The man who had raped his master had ended up dismembered and disemboweled, the most brutal death amongst broken necks, slashed throats, and impaled chests (the implement used to impale the men was never identified, thought now Strianna was fairly certain it had been Zyphre's hand). At the time they called it coincidence and were grateful they had not been present, but now, years after the event, she recalled with newfound understanding the smug look on Zyphre's face and the look of pride on Lydia's as she rubbed his ear the way he liked.

He took some getting used to, but overall he had been a rather cute little bat with a sick sense of humor. He had adored his mistress, always either on her person or as close as he could be. He would ride on her shoulder when he was not flying just above her head and sleep snuggled into her chest. His devotion to her had been clear to all of them, and Strianna had always thought it had been very sweet. She had seen the pain in his eyes when Lydia was taken away to be interrogated, unable to do anything for the coil of rope knotted tightly to keep his wings folded against his body. His ears had swiveled in the direction she had been taken after she had been gone for a time, followed by frantic attempts to bite through his ropes, his keener ears hearing her screaming profanities as she was forced up against the wall and her clothes were torn off.

Come to think of it, the whispered conversation that a half-asleep Strianna had overheard a few nights later suddenly made a lot more sense.

"…could have been hurt," the bat had been whispering brokenly as Strianna became semi-conscious.

"You couldn't have done anything even if you had been there," murmured Lydia. "Shh, shh, it's okay. I'm okay. Come here. It was fine. He didn't hurt me. He was half your size."

Zyphre had then laughed softly and Strianna now realized with a blush that Lydia had been talking about how well-endowed the two men had been.

Then, of course, came the day that everyone realized that the cute, endearing little bat who adored his mistress more than anything and brightened their journey every day had all been a façade. The puppet master who had been hunting them and being hunted by them in turn had finally shown himself. Her betrothed lay dead at her feet and Lydia was preparing a spell that was sure to make him pay for Ventrie's death, her eyes black fire. The puppet master had interrupted her spell by running her through. She still remembered Zyphre's cry. Then, of course, Zyphre had transformed and none of them could move for shock as he took care of the puppet master in the sickest, goriest, and most brutal way possible. Only when the man's intestines had ended up several yards away from the rest of him had he run to Lydia's side, sliced his palm open with the fangs they all clearly saw, and pressed his bleeding hand to her abdomen, his fast healing ability literally bleeding over into her and saving her life. Lydia had kissed him in thanks, he had pulled her to her feet, and turned to her and their other companion, a druid named Devon, for the first time.

"Now you know," he had said with a shrug, seeming completely unconcerned. He was covered head to foot in the puppet master's blood, but the manic red gleam that had been in his eyes had softened. A bastard sword hung at his hip, and it alone had no blood on it, as he had been enraged enough to literally rip the man apart with his bare hands.

With the shock of her betrothed's death and the sudden knowledge that everything she had known about this member of their party was a lie, she had immediately abandoned all reason and previous knowledge. This man was a vampire, a dark, evil creature. Vampires could never be trusted, and they had unknowingly travelled with one for months. He could have killed any one of them at any given time, and the fear had sunk in. Lydia alone had been completely indifferent to his transformation, which could only mean that she had known all along what he was and had kept it silent. This did not help anything.

And yet she had just tried her best to make Lydia see what he was and she had been completely unfazed. Lydia had defended him with absolute sincerity. She truly trusted this vile creature and nothing Strianna could say would ever change that. She was proud of Lydia in a way. She had not let anything sway her feelings for him.

Strianna looked up suddenly as she realized she was being watched. Zyphre was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed loosely, tall, strong, and intimidating. His body language, however, showed no hostility. His bloodred eyes regarded her innocently, if not a bit sadly.

"So," he finally said somewhat awkwardly. "Long time no see."

Strianna nodded. "It has been awhile."

"I wanted to say thank you for allowing Lydia to stay here," said Zyphre, much more maturely than Strianna would ever have thought possible from him. "She was so scared that we would be caught and there was little I could do to quell her fears. Having a haven she can go to has improved her mood so much already. She cried several times on our way here. I hate it when she cries."

"It's not any trouble. I told her she was always welcome here," Strianna said. "Is she trancing?"

Zyphre nodded. "She fell back asleep quickly. She was tired. She's always tired these days." He bit his lower lip, looking uneasy. "This is the first pregnancy I've ever seen up close. I don't know if this is normal, or if the child is draining her as…I don't know if 'future practice' is the right phrase. I don't want to condemn an innocent child to my curse if I can help it."

"As far as I know, a little tiredness is completely normal," said Strianna. "She's providing for two now. It would drain her reserves much quicker than if it were just her. It'll fade away, or at least, she'll get used to it."

Zyphre nodded again, looking slightly reassured. Strianna couldn't believe she was having a conversation with a vampire, let alone _this_ conversation.

"Zyphre…"

"I also wanted to apologize for what I said last night," he continued as if he had not heard her. "It was way out of line. Personally, I liked Ventrie very much. His death saddened me. It was not his time. So, I'm sorry."

"I accept your apology," said Strianna, "but did you do it on your own, or did Lydia punish you as she said she would?"

"Oh, she definitely punished me," Zyphre grumbled. "The decision to apologize was mine, though, and I would have done it regardless. I knew it was out of line immediately after I said it, and I regretted it. As I said, I liked Ventrie."

Strianna remained silent, until Zyphre said softly, "You're afraid of me." It was a statement, not a question.

"A bit," said Strianna.

"Don't lie," said Zyphre. "You almost refused Lydia entry just because I was with her, you threatened me with garlic, and all the times you've looked me in the eye have been accidental. Even now, you're looking everywhere but at me."

"Can you really blame me?" asked Strianna, forcing herself to look him in the eyes and regretting it. The deep red eyes, gleaming and slightly predatory, made her uneasy. "Most of the planet has grown up on stories of vampires, and you gave us no warning before revealing your secret, following it up but ripping a man apart with your bare hands in front of us."

Zyphre laughed softly. "It wouldn't have been as brutal if he hadn't nearly killed Lydia," he said. "It's my job to protect her, and I'll do absolutely everything to keep her safe. I'm just glad that my healing helped her out after the fight. I've only had to give her my blood three times. She's not a vampire; the healing ability doesn't last and that was the first time it lasted until the wound was completely healed. Her blood starts attacking mine as soon as it enters her veins."

"You really love her, don't you?" asked Strianna softly.

"I would die for her." There was no uncertainty in his voice. He meant every word.

"Are you going to marry her?" asked Strianna.

"Wh…what?" Zyphre asked, seeming off guard for the first time that conversation.

"Well, she's not married anymore, is she?" said Strianna. "She's having your child whether you like it or not. She's given you everything she can give. I know she'd die for you too. She really loves you. I was testing her devotion to you before you came back and she never so much as wavered. The least you can do is take her hand."

"Uhh…" A blush began to color his pale cheeks and he seemed at a loss for what to say. He turned gruffly away from her and became very interested in the claws on his right hand. Strianna giggled.

"I'd like to see the results of that," he finally said, some amusement back in his voice. "I'm not exactly trusted by my brethren due to the whole living thing, but I'm their Lord. I got that through fear and clawing my way to the top. 'He's that pussy day-lover' has been long since replaced with 'Zyphre will fuck you up.' I'd like to see how the vampire community will react to their fearless, heartless leader announcing that he's taking a bride."

"It wouldn't be hostile, would it?" asked Strianna.

"It might be," said Zyphre, still examining his nails. "More likely it will be closer to stunned. But Lydia wouldn't like that; she wants to stay undercover and a wedding could hardly take place. My fangs are kind of hard to hide. We assumed the roles years ago anyway; she's told me she doesn't need a ceremony. And I know for a fact that she isn't going to tell anyone but you who the father of her child is, and I can hardly be strolling around this town without causing a panic. It's much more likely that this child will be born and the Vampire Lord will drop off the face of the earth. I'll revoke my title through lack of use. Some other vampire will rise to the top, only to be assassinated and replaced within a century or two. Life moves on."

"Coward," said Strianna jokingly.

"Bitch," retorted Zyphre, and Strianna was sure she heard some warmth in his voice. He looked up from his nails. "Hey, um…this is kind of awkward for me to ask but…how long to elven pregnancies last? I know they don't happen often; I'm ten thousand years old and I've never seen an elven child. I know humans are nine months, but I assume elves are pregnant for a bit longer seeing as she's four months along and not even showing yet…" Another blush colored his cheeks.

"Elven pregnancies last two years," she said. "But an elven mother pregnant with a half-elf child lasts fourteen months, so it really depends on the father and his life span. You are immortal, so I really have no idea."

"If my mother had never been Turned I would have been born a half-elf," said Zyphre. "But you're right. My immortality could very well fuck things up."

"I'm willing to believe that it will act as a normal elf pregnancy," said Strianna. She and Zyphre regarded each other in silence for a few moments before Zyphre spoke again.

"You really tested her loyalty to me?" he said. He sounded worried for the first time.

Strianna nodded. "I wasn't too thrilled about having a vampire under my room, and I'm still not. But she did fabulously. You should be proud at how readily she defended you."

Zyphre looked relieved. "She always makes me proud," he said. "I had long accepted the fact that I would live and die alone before we met. I'm truly lucky to have a woman like her by my side."

"Speaking of having her at your side," said Strianna. "I thought she woke up because of your absence."

"She woke up because I was too far away for her to sense," said Zyphre. "We did cast a few spells when I first undertook the guise as a familiar. My soul is linked to hers. We can feel each other when we're within range. Even when she's trancing, like now, she knows I'm in the house."

"What do you mean, your soul is linked to hers?" asked Strianna curiously.

"I mean there was one time, years and years ago, when she was attacked while I was scouting. Pain racked my entire body and I fell out of the sky. Twisted and dislocated my wing like a moron on the way down," he added with a dry smile. "If our roles had been reversed, the same would have happened to her. We're in tune to each other's pain. I've collapsed a couple of times because I wasn't close enough to her and she got badly hurt. It's less than helpful, to say the least."

"Aren't you afraid that people will try to kill her in hopes of killing you?" asked Strianna.

"The link isn't strong enough to kill me if she dies," he said, "but I do fear that every day. That's why I'm always as close to her as I can be, unless I'm forced away or I have to feed. I don't like having her near enough to see me turn that feral. A feeding vampire isn't very attractive, to be brutally honest."

"How in tune are you to her emotions?" asked Strianna.

"Not as much as I would like to be," said Zyphre, "but even if I felt every single thing she did I would never understand it. I don't understand how that woman can hide everything effortlessly and carry herself like a queen on a moment's notice, and then burst into tears all because I said I would go with her when she ran away from her husband."

"That could have been hormones," supplied Strianna.

"Maybe," said Zyphre. "But on that subject, I can tell that she is waking up because she's cold and she knows I'm not in the bed with her, and I haven't slept in close to thirty-six hours. So I'm off to be willingly roped into cuddling."

"Zyphre," called Strianna as he turned away to go to Lydia. "I…I'm glad we had this talk. I think…no, I _have_ misjudged you. Take good care of her."

"Heh. Always."

* * *

><p>ClaireTsubaki/Noel tried his hand at DMing months ago. I used Lydia and Zyphre as a joint character in the game since we all had to whip someone up as fast as possible. Strianna was played by Isarda and she and Lydia grew very close over the course of the campaign. Chris, the DM in the games I've been scribing, played an elf named Ventrie and he and Strianna fell in love early in the game, him eventually proposing to her. Zyphre enjoyed teasing the two of them; he would often shout "Make out!" while they were having a "private" moment. Between him and Spencer's dog, they hardly had any moments at all. "I...I wanted to give you this ring...i-if you'll accept it." "Ventrie..." "Arawrawrawrawr - ! *Spencer mutes his mic*" "DAMN IT SPENCERDOG!"

Halfway through the campaign, Strianna, Lydia, and Zyphre were all captured through luck of the die and were stuck until Ventrie and Spencer's druid rescued us damsels. Lydia was interrogated. She did spit in his face to show she was not afraid of him. She was raped for her insolence. Zyphre was practically crying, since she was calling his name as it happened and he could not save her. After we got out I typed to Andrew "Zyphre sneaks away from the group and goes back to the building, slaughtering everyone there." and he allowed it, even though I only had one "vampire charge" for the whole game in order to nerf him and he told me to use it on the final boss.

The puppet master was designed for Zyphre. It started as a level 1 campaign, and the puppet master was level 40. It was intended the whole game that it would be a one-on-one with Zyphre. Unfortunately for the poor man, Zyphre is roughly level 160. It was laughable, really, how quickly he was obliterated.

Overall though, it was Andrew's first DMing experience, and as such it wasn't the best game. So I won't be writing it out. Besides, I remember very little from it to be honest. But that should be enough backstory between the chapter and this authors note.


	4. Worries

And so things continued in relative normalcy. Strianna was hardly thrilled at having a vampire under her roof, but she now tolerated Zyphre to an extent. Lydia was still often tired and nauseous on occasion, but perfectly happy. On the other hand, Zyphre grew quieter and less disruptive as the weeks went by and the thought of parenthood sunk in.

The three of them were at the kitchen table, Lydia and Strianna deep in conversation while Zyphre sat on her shoulder, unwilling to join in their conversation and unable to eat with them. Lydia was now seven months along.

"So then," said Lydia, "he says, 'Is that old man still chasing his chicken around outside? That spell must be wearing off by now. I'll fix it.' He leaves the tavern and the next thing you heard was the chicken squawking and the old man shouting, 'Ahh! This chicken is possessed!'"

Strianna laughed. "Sounds like that sorcerer knew how to cause some chaos," she said. "I'll bet he and Zyphre got along great."

"Oh, yeah," said Lydia. "They were practically inseparable until Zyphre was forced to reveal himself in an incident with a succubus. You remember that, Zyphre?"

"Hm?" said Zyphre, looking over at them. "Oh, yeah, he was a prick. Who are we talking about, again?"

Lydia sighed. "What's the matter with you, Zyphre?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"Nothing," he said, looking away again. "Just something on my mind, that's all."

"Come on. You've been quiet for awhile now." Lydia gave him a meaningful look that said quite plainly that he was going to tell her.

Zyphre shook his head and flicked his ear discreetly towards Strianna, meaning that he would talk when they were alone. "Nothing," he said again. "What, I can't think every now and again?"

"No," said Strianna jokingly, not noticing Zyphre's ruse. "Thinking is for people who have deep thoughts."

"That excludes you, then," said Zyphre.

"Hey!" cried Strianna indignantly while Lydia laughed.

"I'm sorry, Stri, you walked right into that," she said. "But I need to go. Araires wanted to see me again this morning."

"Okay," said Strianna. "I have to go shopping later so I might not be here when you get back."

"Alright, we're off then," she said, getting up from the table and leaving the room.

"The old woman has been asking to see you a lot," said Zyphre once they had left the house behind them. "You…you're okay, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm fine," said Lydia patiently. "It's just because I'm pregnant. She needs to make sure the baby is healthy. She does this with all her pregnant patients."

"Okay," he said, almost sadly.

Lydia smiled reassuringly and rubbed his ear. "What happened to the sweet, fun-loving Zyphre I used to know?" she asked teasingly. "Don't you mellow out on me now. I'm gonna need your sense of humor later on."

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry," he said. "Just, there's an issue that I've been thinking about. I'll tell you when we get back."

"Good," she said. "I want the man I fell in love with back."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Zyphre in a fake hurt voice.

"It means you're brooding too much," she smiled.

"I always let you brood!"

"You do not," said Lydia. "You hold me and nearly panic at the thought that something worries me and do whatever you can to put it right, or at least out of my mind. Sweet, but hardly 'letting me' do anything."

"I take offense to the truth in that," said Zyphre indignantly.

"Of course you do," she said. "Hello, Araires!"

"Lydia, dear, good to see you. I hope you're doing well," said the elderly, portly little elven woman, looking up from her garden.

"I'm quite well," she said, smiling.

"Our little friend giving you any trouble?" she asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

"I do not cause trouble!" said Zyphre indignantly.

"I was referring to your master's baby, Zyphre," said Araires, "but I certainly hope you aren't stressing out your master."

"They've both been great," said Lydia, rubbing Zyphre's ear to placate him. "Though to be fair, you do cause as much trouble as you can get away with."

"Hey!" Zyphre whined.

"Oh, hush, you know I love you," said Lydia. She turned back to Araires. "The baby has been draining me as usual, but nothing horrible yet."

"That's always good," she said. "And the morning sickness?"

"Almost completely gone," she said. "Good thing too, Zyphre made a bigger deal out of it than I would've thought possible."

"Yes, well, familiars can do that," she said. "Erin has gotten quite nitpicky in my old age, but nothing compares to a familiar with a pregnant mistress."

"I'm still here," said Zyphre.

"I find it hard to forget when you are here, bat," said Araires. "Your aura is unusually strong."

"Calm down, Zyphre," said Lydia as he opened his mouth to retaliate. "So are we going to do the exam?" she asked Araires.

"Yes, of course, dear," she said. "Come on in."

She started forward with Zyphre on her shoulder when Araires held up her hand to stop them.

"Not you, Zyphre," she said. "I need to examine Lydia alone. It is inappropriate to have a male in the room –"

"I see her naked every single day!"

"– and you have a distinctly malevolent aura that I find clouds my thinking," Araires continued as if he had not spoken. "You may wait outside until we are finished."

"Like it would make a shit ton of difference if I were with you or not!" said Zyphre, digging his claws tighter into the fabric on Lydia's shoulder.

Lydia calmly detached his claws and removed him. "Of course," she said. "Zyphre, we'll be right out. Wait here."

"But Lydia…" Lydia was already following the old healer inside and shutting the door. Zyphre settled down with his back against the door, wings crossed in irritation. His ears swiveled towards the door, trying to hear when was going on inside.

"Hey, Zyphre!"

Zyphre glanced up and gave an inaudible sigh. "Hello, Erin."

Araires' raven familiar, Erin, flew down to settle next to him. "How're you?" she asked.

"Annoyed," said Zyphre. "I'm not allowed in while she examines Lydia. Says there's 'no males allowed' like it means anything. I've seen my mistress naked hundreds of times. She's got nothing to hide from me."

"Tradition and courtesy," said Erin. "That's the reason that stands."

"She also said I have a 'distinctly malevolent aura,'" he said. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means she thinks you're evil," said Erin helpfully.

"I know what it means!" said Zyphre irritably. "It's bullshit is what it is. I'm her fucking familiar."

"You're funny, Zyphre," said Erin.

"What's funny?"

"You and I both know that you're not a familiar," said Erin with a laugh.

Zyphre gaped at her in shock. How could he have been so stupid? Of course a true familiar would recognize that his magical ties to Lydia are not that of a familiar. He tried to say something to counter it, and felt like hitting himself when he more or less confirmed it by stammering, "D-does Araires know?"

"I haven't seen the need to tell her, since it hasn't come up in conversation," she said lightly. "I like you and wouldn't want to inconvenience you."

"Are you able to tell what I am?" he asked, slightly panicky.

"No, I wouldn't be able to tell, but…" She looked around and leaned in a little closer, "the current Vampire Lord is also named Zyphre, and it's not a very common name."

The only word that Zyphre managed to get out was "Fuck."

"Haha, I'm right, aren't I?" she asked without any smugness, purely curiosity.

"You are really pushing me, you smart, smart bird," hissed Zyphre.

Erin smiled. "Don't worry; I'll keep your secret. You'll have an heir that you need to protect in just a short seventeen months."

"I never said it was mine!" he said in a real panic now.

"You never said it wasn't," said Erin. "Personally, I think it is, but we'll see when it's born."

"How do you even know all of this? You're a fucking bird!"

"I'm a raven," said Erin. "Raven familiars are notorious for their intelligence." She puffed out her feathery chest.

"You are not to tell anyone," he said. "Not even Araires. I'm intending to drop off the face of the planet for a time. At least until my child is old enough to defend him or herself. If anyone finds out we're here, my child will be in danger, and Lydia will be too. Erin, please keep it quiet. I don't want to have to tear you apart feather by feather."

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," said Erin. "I swear."

"Good," he grumbled. "Now shut up. I'm trying to hear what's going on inside."

He had just swiveled his ears back when he had to fly out of the way, just narrowly avoiding being struck with the door. He immediately darted to Lydia's shoulder, nuzzling into her neck as if they had been apart for years instead of fifteen minutes.

"Hi, Zyphre," she said. "Guess what. Araires says I'll be able to feel the baby move soon!"

"Really?" he asked. "That's great!" He nuzzled her under the chin affectionately.

Lydia looked over her shoulder at the healer. "How could anyone ever think that this is evil?" she asked, gesturing to Zyphre.

"There's something about him that doesn't sit right with me," said Araires. Zyphre shot Erin a look that said quite plainly _don't you dare_. Before Araires could notice, he went back to nuzzling.

"But he's your problem, not mine, dear. I'm not going to judge you for your choice of a companion. That'll be fine, Lydia, dear," she continued. "Come and see me in a month, or if there are any problems."

"Thank you, Araires," said Lydia, starting to walk away. "Hopefully, I won't see you for a month."

"I hope so too, dear," she said, waving her away. "You keep that bat out of trouble, now."

"Hey!"

"Calm down, Zyphre."

When they were a good distance away, Lydia said quiet enough that only Zyphre could hear her, "Before you say anything, you're the most powerful vampire in the world. She's an experienced sorceress devoted to good and healing. She drives away evil. She was bound to sense you."

"Erin knows exactly who I am," said Zyphre, just as quietly.

"She does? Oh, no…"

"Yeah, she told me while we were waiting," he said. "Or rather, she guessed, and my reaction accidentally confirmed it. She's sworn not to tell anyone under pain of death, but she has a hard time keeping that beak of hers shut."

"That's a bit worrisome…" Lydia bit her thumbnail in thought. "How did she guess? It's a bit of a stretch…"

"She recognized that my magic wasn't quite that of a familiar, and guessed because the vampire lord and I share the same name," he said.

"Oh, dear, see, this is why I'm glad that you're a bat," she said. "Ravens are too smart for their own good."

"That's what I said," said Zyphre. "But then, it's really my fault. It's completely flawless to every observer, but I never thought that a true familiar could figure it out by feel alone."

"I'd say a ninety-nine percent success rate is good enough," said Lydia.

"I wouldn't," he said. "But moving along, you'll be able to feel it soon? You'll have proof that something is actually there?"

"Apparently," she said happily. "I don't think you'll be able to feel from the outside for a few more months though."

Zyphre looked slightly put out but sounded perfectly happy when he said, "That's alright. I can wait a bit. I'll have all the proof I need once you start showing. When will that be?"

"About a month from now, I think," she said.

"Not too far off, then," he said.

"Nope."

* * *

><p>Strianna, as she had said, was not home when they arrived. Lydia unlocked the door and went inside, shutting the door behind her. She walked down the hall to their shared room and shut that door behind her too. She sat on the bed and crossed her legs, looking down at Zyphre.<p>

"So, you were going to tell me what's been bothering you," she said leadingly. "We're alone, and I want to know what has you sulking."

Zyphre sighed and transformed into his vampire form. "I'm worried about the baby," he said after a short pause.

"What about the baby?" asked Lydia.

"What I've done to it," he said. "I mean…I don't know what's going to happen."

"What do you mean?" asked Lydia, concerned.

"Well…how do I put this?" he said. "I'm afraid I might have either subjected an innocent child to my curse, or created some sort of hybrid."

"You're saying you're afraid you've made a half-vampire," said Lydia. She touched his wrist softly. He looked up at her.

"I may have," he said. "But it's more…like, if a vampire and a non-vampire have a child, it will be a half-vampire. And if two vampires have a kid…well, that doesn't work. As far as I know, I'm the only one who's ever grown at all. The offspring of two vampires dies in the womb or shortly after birth. What I'm concerned about is that I _am_ the only one living. I have no idea what I've done to this child. No idea."

"I see," said Lydia. She leaned up and kissed him softly. "Whatever this child ends up being, elf, vampire, or hybrid, it's _ours_. That's all that matters. Whether they have all your powers or none of them, I'm still going to love them. And I know you're going to be a wonderful father."

"I'm going to try," he said, kissing her. "I certainly hope I'll be a better parent than their grandmother."

"Oh, are you going to talk about your mother for once?" asked Lydia, intrigued.

"I'd rather not," he said, silencing her with another kiss. Lydia smiled at his predictability as he deepened the kiss.

"Later," she said, lightly pushing at his chest. "I'm tired now."

"I wasn't going to go all the way," pouted Zyphre. "I don't want to hurt the baby."

"Whatever you were going to do, later," she said. "I'm willing to bet we have a full blooded vampire in here. He or she is draining me dry."

Zyphre wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him. She pushed them back so that they were lying down and snuggled against his side. As Lydia drifted off to sleep, Zyphre thought hard about what she had said and found that it made him feel better. He'd still feel a lot better once Lydia felt it move, though. There was still every possibility that it would die in the womb, being such a strange mix.

He hadn't been lying. He had never intended to go all the way, but it had been awhile since he had pleasured her. He didn't know what intercourse would do to the baby, so that had never been his intention. Despite this, he couldn't help but feel that he had just been cockblocked by a fetus.

* * *

><p>An hour or two had passed. Strianna was home now and had looked in on them, smiling in amusement upon seeing a wide-awake Zyphre and his current position as a pillow. Zyphre merely smirked and raised his eyebrows, silently implying that anyone would love to be in his position, and pulled Lydia a little closer. Strianna had shaken her head, smiling, and left. He hadn't seen her since but he could hear her in the main room.<p>

Zyphre was wondering whether it would be alright if he dozed off when Lydia gasped and sat bolt upright.

"Lydia…? You okay?"

"Oh my gods, Zyphre!" she cried. "I-I just…"

"What?" he asked, really concerned now and sitting up.

Lydia looked down and put both hands over her lower abdomen. She seemed shocked. "It _moved_," she breathed.

"What? Are you sure?" asked Zyphre, covering her hands with his own.

"Yeah. I mean…I mean, I think so," she said. "I was waking up, and dozing when I felt this…this flutter. I think it was the baby."

"Wow…you're really alive down there," breathed Zyphre in awe.

That was the day that the notion of parenthood was really driven home.


	5. Transition

Two months passed. Lydia was now beginning to show, her belly curving slightly. Her breasts had also grown slightly, much to Zyphre's pleasure. It was around this time that the fat jokes started between Lydia and Strianna, but Zyphre thought she was beautiful and told her so often. Her tiredness was diminishing greatly.

One thing he was not prepared for at all came at the ten month mark. He had been out feeding that night and had flown in through the window, only to be tackled from behind as soon as he transformed.

"Zyyyyyyyphre," Lydia breathed in his ear. "My wonderful, perfect, amazing, sexy vampire lord."

"Oh gods, what did I do?" he asked, automatically assuming that he had done something to land him in trouble. It wouldn't be the first time she had played nice to catch him off guard.

"Nothing, Zyphre," she said. "Zyphre, I'm so horny. I can't stand it. I want you."

"Uh, Lydia," he said. "The baby? I've told you I don't want to hurt it."

"Please, Zyphre," she said. "My whole body is so hot. I need to get off or I'll go crazy."

He unwrapped her arms from his shoulder and neck and turned around to look at her. Her face was flushed slightly and her emerald eyes were clouded in need. She rested her hands on her growing stomach as she often did these days and let out a pleading little whine.

"Is Strianna home?" asked Zyphre.

Lydia shook her head. "She'll be gone for most of the day," she said.

"Then I know what I'll do," he said with a smirk. He picked her up bridal style and carried her to the bed. He lay her down and pushed her skirt up. The crotch of her panties were stained with wetness. Zyphre slid them off.

"Come on, Zyphre," she breathed. "Fuck me."

Zyphre's arousal twitched but he ignored it and shook his head. "I'm not going to risk the baby like that," he said, "but trust me, okay?"

Lydia let out a high, needy whine, but nodded. Zyphre spread her legs apart and lowered his head. True, he had rarely brought her to climax that way, but it wasn't for lack of trying. She often stopped him before he could finish and told him to stick it in. He loved listening to her moan and watching her writhe as he worked her though, and was quite pleased when she started immediately.

"Uhnnn…Ahh! Zyphre!" she moaned as he ran his tongue around her entrance, barely delving in, walking the line between pleasuring and teasing. "Ahhng!"

Her legs had locked up and were beginning to shake slightly. Zyphre didn't let up, but moved higher, running his tongue around her clitoris but avoiding touching it. She left out a high-pitched, needy plea. He smirked to himself and swiped his tongue over it once.

"Haaaaah!" She let out a long, breathy moan and he saw her clench her passage to bring herself more pleasure. He continued to gently lick her clit. She was gripping the sheets of the bed so tightly her knuckles had turned white. "Unnng, Zyphre!"

He licked her with more force, running his tongue all around her clitoris. He knew from experience that she loved pressure just above it and sure enough, she nearly screamed. "Ahhhhhn! Zyphre! I'm almost…gahhh!"

Zyphre abandoned his teasing and attacked her clitoris directly. She bucked her hips towards him.

"_Ahhhhhhhhhhhhng_! _Zyphreeeeee_!" Lydia's body began to jerk as her back arched. Fluid spilled from her passage as it contacted. Then, it all stopped and Lydia relaxed, breathing hard. She opened her eyes, having shut them early in his ministrations and looked at him. "Thank you," she said. "I should let you do that more often."

"Yes, you should," said Zyphre. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a slight problem that requires my immediate attention."

Lydia caught his wrist as he started to get up and pulled him back down. "No," she said. "It requires _my_ immediate attention." She roughly rubbed his obvious erection through the fabric of his pants as she pulled them down, earning a low moan. He was quite content to let her continue stroking and squeezing his member. At least, he was until she went down on him.

"Ahhhhg, Lydia!" Zyphre threw back his head and she sucked on him, running her tongue around the head. She didn't do it very often, so he rarely got to enjoy it, but damn it she was _good_ at giving head. She sucked with force on the head, running her tongue along the underside where the head met the shaft.

"Ahhhhhhng, Lydi…a, I'm gonna…Uhhhn, I'm gonna cum!" he managed to gasp out.

"Mmm," Lydia said, sending vibrations down his shaft and making him cry out. She went down all the way, deep throating him. He came a second later, his seed filling her mouth. She swallowed a few times and released his softening member when he finished.

"What did I do to deserve you?" panted Zyphre as she licked her lips erotically.

"Mm, I was just about to ask the same thing," she said.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She laid her head against his chest contentedly. Zyphre thought perhaps he should fix his pants, but decided to do it later, unwilling to disturb Lydia. In hindsight, he really should have.

"Lydia?" came Strianna's voice. "I came back to check and see how you were doing. Is Zyphre back ye – Oh my gods, that is the biggest penis I've ever seen!" She covered her mouth with her hands and turned away as if she had blurted that out without thinking.

"I told you! I told you he was well-endowed!" said Lydia triumphantly as Zyphre hastened to fix his pants, covering himself with the bottom of his tunic and having the good grace to blush furiously.

"You didn't just…? That's bad for the baby."

"No. We didn't," said Zyphre, still bright red and taking the faster route to hide himself by transforming. "We just helped each other out."

Strianna looked questioningly at Lydia. She moved her fist to her mouth and away again, sticking her tongue in her cheek to imitate oral sex. Zyphre looked determinedly at the wall, obvious even as a bat that he was still blushing.

* * *

><p>Despite being caught, that became something of a routine as Lydia's hormones raged and her libido increased, though it was always a bit awkward when she couldn't wait for him while he was out and he'd walk in on her masturbating. It was hard to tell who was more excited when Lydia got confirmation from Araires that penetration won't hurt the baby in the least. As her pregnancy progressed, she also began to get painful cramping in her uterus. They quickly found out that bringing her to orgasm was the easiest way to get rid of the cramping, though Zyphre never penetrated her when trying to bring her relief rather than pleasure. Zyphre, for one, was thrilled that their sex life was continuing when he had accepted that he would not be getting any for a long time. Unfortunately, it was getting very hard to tell when he was going to be welcomed or snapped at; mood swings were also in full force.<p>

Lydia was sixteen months along when they decided that the time had definitely come to find their own place. She decided that it would be unfair to Strianna once the baby is born to impose with a crying infant, and Zyphre rose to the occasion magnificently. Lydia wasn't entirely sure how he had done it, but he had somehow managed to obtain an empty one-story building on the outskirts of Lydel, not too far from Strianna's house.

Lydia was now in her third trimester and her belly was growing larger. Zyphre still thought she looked extremely sexy, but he was not entirely sure she believed him when he told her. The baby was moving and kicking often according to Lydia, but Zyphre hadn't felt it yet.

Zyphre was woken up in the eighteenth month to Lydia arching her back and hissing is pain. Her entire body tensed in his embrace.

"What's wrong, Lydia?" he asked as she hissed again.

"Your kid is on my spine," she said. "It must have moved during the night."

Zyphre couldn't help but notice that every time the baby did something that caused her discomfort it suddenly because "his" child. He laughed quietly and ran his hands down her stomach. "Hey, stop hurting your mother," he said soothingly. "She didn't do anything to you."

Two things happened at once. Lydia relaxed as the baby moved away from her spinal cord and Zyphre felt what was unmistakably a kick against his hand.

"Oh my gods," he said excitedly. "Lydia, I felt it!"

Lydia too was looking down in slight awe. "He _responded_ to you," she said. "He moved towards your hand."

"You sure?" asked Zyphre.

"Positive," she said. "That's so cool. He knows who his daddy is."

"I highly doubt they recognize me as their father," said Zyphre.

"Hush, don't ruin the moment," she said. "Araires told me that the baby can hear. He or she knows the voices it hears the most. They didn't move until you spoke. They recognized your voice."

The infant started kicking at Zyphre's hand again. He moved his hand slightly and the infant followed. Zyphre amused himself by playing with his child for a few moments before Lydia winced and said, "He's got your strength."

"Oh, sorry," he said. "Should I stop?"

"No, that's alright," she said. "If he's going to beat me up anyway, you might as well be entertained."

Zyphre didn't need to be told twice. Lydia looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.

"You should see your grin right now," she said. "You look so delighted."

"I am delighted," he said. "I've never felt it move before."

"I'm glad one of us is finding enjoyment out of this," she said wryly. She winced again. "He's definitely going to be a strong one."

"My son, heir to the throne," he said.

"You don't know if we're having a son yet."

"You're the one calling it a he."

"We needed a pronoun to fall back on."

"Gotta be a fucking boy," said Zyphre. "A girl wouldn't be giving you this much trouble."

"Because you know so much about small children." She threw the covers of the bed back and sat up, throwing her legs over the side and standing.

"Where are you going?" asked Zyphre.

"Bathroom," she answered. "Your child has moved to lean on my bladder."

As Zyphre got up to help her, as walking was no longer her forte, he couldn't help but noticed that it was his child again. He smirked.

* * *

><p>"I wish you two were still staying with me," said Strianna.<p>

Lydia was now in month twenty-one and preferred sitting over everything else. Strianna had come over to visit and the two women were sitting at the kitchen table while Zyphre lurked nearby in his bat form. Lydia had agreed that his presence was most helpful now that she was carrying so much extra weight around. She often needed help getting from point A to point B.

"Even me?" he asked.

"Yeah, even you," said Strianna. "Although I don't miss hearing the two of you fucking each other's brains out."

"Sorry," apologized Lydia. "I instigated ninety percent of those. Hormones, you know…"

"Yes, I know, I wasn't blaming you," she said. "I just don't miss hearing you two moaning through the wall."

Zyphre snickered. Lydia had the good grace to look ashamed.

"Hey, why don't you two stay with me again for the last two weeks?" offered Strianna. "I'm closer to Araires than you are and I can help you get there when it's time."

"What happened to me carrying her to the old woman?" asked Zyphre.

"Everyone thinks you're a bat, you moron," said Strianna.

Lydia cut off his retort by saying, "I accept. Thank you, Strianna."

"It's no trouble," she said. "It's gotten lonely in that house by myself."

"I rather miss having another woman around too," said Lydia. "Zyphre tries, but every now and then a mood swing catches him off guard and he cowers. He doesn't understand a lot of this."

"She says while I stand right here."

"Love you!"

Strianna laughed. "At least your cravings weren't too bad," she said. "Though I would've liked to see you drive him up the wall in his attempts to please you."

"Hey!"

"If you don't like being talked about like you're not here, join the conversation," said Lydia over her shoulder.

"You two are talking about girl stuff," he said. "I'm just kind of here."

"Fine, I'll involve you," said Lydia. "Zyphre, would you like to stay with Strianna the last couple weeks before the baby is born?"

"Sure?" he said, shrugging. "It doesn't really matter to me, to be perfectly honest. I'll go wherever you are."

"Aww," said Strianna. Zyphre shot her a look. "Just, please don't make love loudly if I'm home. That got a little tiresome."

"We haven't made love in about four months or so," said Lydia. "It started to get uncomfortable once I got too big."

"Ohh, and how's Zyphre coping with that?" asked Strianna mockingly, looking over at him.

"Seeing as I had thought I would have to go three plus years without getting any, I'd say well enough," said Zyphre. "And I went a good few thousand before I met her. Thanks for the concern," he added as sarcastically as possible. "It's fine, because she gives the best head _ever_."

The look on Strianna's face told him that he had successfully made her drop the subject. In reality though, he had been telling the truth. The fact that Lydia was the only one who had ever gone down on him was irrelevant.

Despite the fact that they had agreed to stay with Strianna a few weeks before the baby was due, it looked a lot closer from this side of the move. Lydia was beginning to get anxious, but her anxiety was nothing compared to Zyphre. It became an everyday occurrence for Lydia to tell him to calm down because it was stressing her out. Lydia was more than ready for it to be over with. Zyphre's thoughts were more focused on the birth itself, and how he was going to stand seeing her in so much pain. There were only two weeks left, give or take a few days, and Zyphre was beginning to realize that neither of them were prepared.

* * *

><p>So much happens in the first trimester, and this it just kind of...stops. Sooooo this.<p>

Next chapter: Girl or boy?


	6. Birth

One week. Araires had said that the baby should be here in one week. The mounting apprehension was almost tangible between Zyphre and Lydia.

Night was falling as they made their way slowly back from Araires' clinic. Lydia seemed short of breath and was pale. Zyphre was in his bat form, but as night fell he was resisting the urge to transform and carry her.

"Are you okay?" asked Zyphre for the fifteenth time that day.

"_Yes_, Zyphre," she said. "I'm okay. And I'll be okay the next time you ask, and the time after that. If I'm ever not okay, you will be the first to know."

Zyphre cringed and folded his ears back in submission. She was in an irritable mood swing. He flew to her shoulder and nuzzled underneath her chin in apology. She sighed and rubbed his ear the way he liked.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just tired. I want to go home and get to, ah, bed." She punctuated her sentence with a little gasp and a wince. She stopped walking and rested her hands on her stomach.

"What?" asked Zyphre in concern.

Lydia stood there with her eyes squeezed shut. Her face relaxed and she opened her eyes. "Nothing," she said. "I thought I was getting a cramp, but it's passed."

"Do you want me to help you?"

"No. No, you'll be seen," she said. She started to walk again.

Fifteen minutes later, they were outside Strianna's house. Lydia put her hand on the doorknob and cried out, leaning against the door for support and closing her eyes again. After almost a minute she relaxed and straightened up.

"That's weird," she said. "Cramps don't usually come and go like that."

"You don't think you could be…?" asked Zyphre anxiously.

"No," said Lydia. "No, it's too early." She didn't look entirely convinced.

"Lydia…"

"Please, Zyphre, I'm exhausted," said Lydia. "I just want to go to bed. Everything is fine."

"…Okay," he said as Lydia opened the door. As soon as it was shut he transformed and picked her up. She smiled and leaned her head against his chest as he carried her to the bedroom.

He lay her down on the bed and climbed in next to her. She was asleep within minutes, but he stayed awake, watching her, anxiety settling in the pit of his stomach. After about fifteen minutes since they had gotten home, she tensed in his arms for several seconds, whimpering. Zyphre frowned, a little bit of panic starting to set in. Lydia repeated this thirteen minutes later.

After almost two hours of this behavior, though with shorter and shorter gaps in between, she woke with a choked yell. She sat bolt upright and moved her hand down to feel herself. Her eyes widened in horror.

"Zyphre," she said in a hushed voice.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a slightly frantic voice, sitting up with her and taking her shoulders. She didn't look at him, but continued to stare down at her stomach.

"My water broke," she whispered.

Zyphre's eyes widened. "Shit!" he hissed, jumping up. He moved to the doorway and shouted down the hall. "Strianna! It's time!"

Without waiting for a response, he moved to Lydia's side. He helped her to her feet, but as soon as she stood upright another contraction hit her. She cried out and grabbed the fabric of Zyphre's coat to stay upright while he immediately grabbed her to hold her up.

"Ahh, Zyphre, it hurts!" she whimpered.

"I know, I know" he said. "Araires said not for another week…!"

"Well, the baby says now!" she said through clenched teeth.

Strianna appeared in the doorway. "What is it?" she asked sleepily.

"The baby's coming," said Lydia weakly as her contraction ended.

"Oh, no," said Strianna, all tiredness forgotten. She rushed over and wrapped Lydia's arm around her shoulders, holding her upright. Zyphre transformed into his bat form and hovered above their heads.

With Strianna hurrying her along it took a much shorter time to get to Araires than it did to get home. Strianna pounded on the door, Araires answering seconds later.

"Lydia?" she said in surprise. "It's awfully late. What's wrong?"

"She's in labor," said Strianna.

"Oh, dear," she said. "Inside, dear, inside."

Zyphre flew in after them and Araires held up her hand.

"No, Zyphre, you have to wait outside until it's over," she said.

"She's my mistress!" hissed Zyphre indignantly.

"This is a woman's burden," she said. "Not even the child's father would be allowed in."

Zyphre bared his teeth and growled, just as Lydia turned three shades whiter as another contraction hit her.

"No," she said in a tight voice. "No, Araires. I want him with me. I need him with me."

"Lydia, dear, it's not –"

"No," she said forcibly, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain. "Zyphre stays."

"Well…alright," said Araires. "But you will be quiet and stay out of the way."

"Yes, ma'am," said Zyphre. "Thank you."

Lydia was led to a room off of the main house area. She lay down on the bed, Araires taking a seat at the foot and Zyphre settling down next to her head. Strianna waited outside the room.

"You aren't completely dilated yet," said Araires. "How far apart are your contractions?"

"Fi…five minutes," she groaned. "They're getting longer and worse."

"They'll do that," said Araires. "Breathe, dear, breathe. You're almost completely dilated."

"What does that mean?" asked Zyphre anxiously.

"It means she'll be ready to have the baby soon," said Araires.

Zyphre swallowed. Lydia whimpered and grit her teeth, closing her eyes. "Breathe," Araires reminded her.

"I'm…trying," Lydia groaned. "Ahhhrg, get it out!" she yelled as the pain reached a peak.

"Not quite yet," said Araires. "Soon."

"It hurts…!"

"I know," said Araires. "It will be all over soon."

She gave a high-pitched whine. "Zyphreeee…"

"Breathe, Lydia, you're doing fine," he said calmly, feeling everything but calm.

"Owww…"

It was almost an hour before Araires said, "Okay, when I tell you to, I want you to push as hard as you can."

Lydia nodded with another whimper of pain. She had started to cry fifteen minutes ago when the pain became too great. Zyphre sat by helplessly, at a loss for what to do. She was in the hands of a woman, doing what women had been helping other women do for millennia. Still, Zyphre had always been able to ease her pain and there was nothing he could do but encourage as he watched her suffer.

"Okay, ready? Push," said Araires.

Lydia let out a rather disturbing cry as she followed the old healer's instructions. Zyphre flinched and folded his ears back.

"You're doing great, dear," said Araires. "Breathe. Breathe."

"It'll be over soon, Lydia," said Zyphre firmly. "Breathe. You're okay." He was really beginning to feel afraid now. This was taking so long and she was in so much pain…

"Good, good," said Araires. "Ready? Push!"

Lydia wailed and with a twinge of panic, Zyphre smelled blood.

"Breathe. Breathe," coaxed Araires.

"Breathe, Lydia," said Zyphre, trying to block the blood scent from his senses. "You're doing fine. You're okay. Breathe. It'll all be over soon. Breathe."

"Graaaaah, the next person who tells me to breathe will be suffocated!" shrieked Lydia. Zyphre immediately folded his ears tightly against his head in submission and stopped talking.

She tilted her head back, fresh tears streaming from her eyes and gripping the sheets in a death grip. Zyphre nuzzled her comfortingly as she gave another disturbing cry and the blood scent grew stronger.

After what seemed like an eternity, Araires said, "I can see the head, dear. One more good push, now. Ready? Push!"

Lydia's whimper quickly turned into a scream. Araires shouted encouragement. Zyphre sat next to her head, tenser than he could ever remember being in his life. Lydia's wail ended in a sob.

"You're almost done!" Araires said. "One more push! Ready? Push!"

Lydia cried out one last time. When it was over she went completely limp. The unmistakable cry of a newborn split the air. Lydia's head shot up to try and see her child, but Araires had taken it and was wrapping it up in a blanket, turned away from them. Zyphre realized that he had been holding his breath for the past thirty seconds and let it out.

Araires came over and held out the bundle. Lydia sat up and took her crying child, filling their tiny lungs with air.

"It's a boy," said Araires with a smile.

"A boy," repeated Zyphre weakly. "It's a boy."

"He's hungry," said Araires.

Lydia immediately lifted her shirt and raised him to her breast. He began to suckle in earnest, Lydia smiling down at her son. Zyphre climbed up to cling to her shoulder, staring at his son in awe.

Through the baby fat, both of them could tell that when he grew up he would have Zyphre's sharp, angular face. His hair was white. His lips were dark, but nowhere close to the black of Zyphre's. His eyes were bright, emerald green.

"He looks exactly like his father," said Lydia softly.

"Except for his eyes," Zyphre said in awe. "He has your eyes."

Strianna looked into the room, her eyes lighting up as she saw the infant in Lydia's arms. "Boy or girl?" she asked.

"Boy," said Zyphre faintly without taking his eyes off his son.

Strianna went around to look at the baby's face. "He has your eyes, Lydia," she said.

"Yes, but besides that he looks exactly like his father," said Lydia warmly.

"He's beautiful," she said.

"Do you have a name in mind?" asked Araires.

"Usually the father gets naming rights to their sons," said Lydia. "His father can't ever be here, so…Zyphre." She turned to the bat on her shoulder. "You get to name him."

Zyphre looked around, feeling very much put on the spot. Araires raised her eyebrows in surprise but said nothing. He looked down at his son, a rush of affection flooding his veins. He was silent for a long time, watching the baby feed.

"Lucian," he finally said after a few minutes.

"Lucian," Lydia repeated slowly, testing the name. "I like it. You hear that, baby? Your name is Lucian."

After making sure that Lydia and her baby were comfortable, Araires headed off to bed. Strianna left shortly after that, promising to return in the morning. Lucian was blinking attentively up at his parents.

"Can I hold him?" Zyphre asked softly.

"Of course you can," said Lydia.

Zyphre transformed and sat on the edge of the bed. Lydia held their son out. Zyphre took him gently, making sure to watch his head. A smile lit his face.

"Hi," he said. "Hi, Lucian. I'm your dad."

Lucian yawned. Zyphre tensed and fear gripped the pit of his stomach.

"Lydia," he said in a low voice.

"I know," she said softly. "I could feel them when he was feeding."

When Lucian had yawned, two pointed fangs were shown to be poking through his otherwise empty gums.

"Shit," said Zyphre. "There's only one way to tell if he's really been afflicted."

Zyphre shifted Lucian so that he could hold him in one arm and raised his other hand to his mouth. He sliced his index finger open with one of his fangs and lowered his finger. Lucian's nostrils flared and he latched onto Zyphre's finger, sucking more eagerly than he had with Lydia's milk. Zyphre sighed and looked sadly up at Lydia.

"That settles it," he said. "He has the curse."

Lydia sat up, wincing slightly. "So?" she said. "He's our son. You'll teach him, won't you? He'll turn out just as well as you did. I know it."

"Lydia…" Zyphre looked from her to Lucian, who had had his fill and released his father's finger. The wound was already healing. Lucian yawned widely again and blinked sleepily. "Yeah," he said finally, his eyes softening. He looked back up at her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm completely exhausted and sitting is a whole new experience, but other than that, I've never been better," she said.

Zyphre stood and lay Lucian gently in the bassinette Araires had brought into the room before she left for bed, wheeling it over so that it was right against the side of the bed. Zyphre moved to the bed and kissed her deeply. "You did wonderfully," he told her. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you," she said. "I'm proud of you for not having a panic attack halfway through."

"It was a near thing, to be honest."

Lydia laughed softly. "I've never been more tired in my life," she said. "I'm going to take advantage of the time until Lucian gets hungry, okay?"

"That's fine," he said. "I'll stay up and watch him."

Despite what he said, the evening had been taxing on his nerves and he was exhausted as well. If anyone had looked in on that room, they would have seen three figures sleeping peacefully; a newborn infant in his bed, his mother turned on her side towards him, and the bat that she was never seen without tangled in her embrace.


	7. ACT II: Doula

Zyphre and Lydia were woken up simultaneously before dawn by Lucian's plaintive cry. Zyphre crawled groggily out of the way as Lydia sat up and lifted their child from the bassinette.

"Hey, what's wrong?" crooned Lydia. "Shhhh, shh, shh, shh, shh."

"Is he hungry?" asked Zyphre. He transformed and pulled Lydia into his lap, clasping his hands together on her stomach.

Lydia raised him to her breast, where Lucian eagerly began to feed. "Yep," she said. "What, you don't have a thirst for blood yet?" she asked Lucian with a soft smile.

Zyphre didn't laugh. "That was necessary," he said. "All half-vampires have to be given blood to see if they have vampiric powers. If they _are_ infected, they need to be given blood within the first six hours of life or they'll get really sick."

"I wasn't questioning you," said Lydia, looking over her shoulder at him. "I know you wouldn't have done that without good reason. How do you know that, by the way? I didn't think that kind of thing was your forte."

"It's not," said Zyphre, shrugging. "I know that because I got sick. That was the only thing my mother ever taught me that's ever been of any use." He gave a dry smile.

"My poor vampire lord," she said, leaning back against his chest. Zyphre gave her a little squeeze and moved his grip upwards a bit so that she could rest her arms on his. He rested his chin on the top of her head and watched his son.

As Lydia switched breasts so that Lucian could continue feeding, Zyphre said, "It feels so weird for you to be thin again."

"Really?" she said. "Yes, I suppose it would, but I can't say I miss carrying his weight around."

"I'm glad it's over," he said.

"Yeah, me too," she said. "Ouch!"

"What?"

"Nothing," she said. "His fangs just…"

"Hey, stop biting your mother," he said playfully. "She worked hard getting you here."

"He didn't bite me," she said. "One of his fangs just jabbed me."

"Yeah, I know, he's too young to know to do that," said Zyphre. "It'll be a few months before he knows to bite, and after that it'll be a few minutes before he knows never to do it again."

"I have absolute faith that you will take care of it before I can react when the time comes," she said with a laugh.

"Can I hold him again?" asked Zyphre.

Lydia nodded. "Mhm, when he's finished."

When Lydia had finished feeding him and burped him, she slid off of Zyphre's lap and handed him his son. Zyphre took him with a gentleness Lydia rarely saw in him and his eyes softened as he looked down at the bundle in his arms.

"I can't believe that I helped make something like him," he said softly.

Lydia hugged him from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Believe it, because he looks exactly like you," she yawned.

"Are you still tired?" asked Zyphre.

"You try being in labor for four hours and then only sleep for two and then ask me that question," replied Lydia.

"Sleep," he said. "I'll watch him. He's falling asleep again in any case."

"Thank you," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

As Lydia snuggled down into the bed, Zyphre moved to sit against the wall so as not to disturb her. Zyphre moved his fingers around above Lucian's head and watched in quiet amusement as Lucian's sleepy eyes followed them. It didn't last very long before Lucian got bored and closed his eyes, falling asleep in his father's arms.

"So this is what your true form looks like."

Zyphre's gaze snapped up, instinctively holding Lucian closer. Erin the raven was perched on the footboard of the bed. He hadn't seen her come in.

"Oh, it's just you," he said. He relaxed slightly but still held Lucian protectively against his chest.

"I was right all those months ago," she said. "This baby can only be yours."

"Yeah," said Zyphre, smiling in spite of himself. "My son."

"I never thought vampires made the best of parents," said Erin. "I've never heard of a vampire raising their kin. They usually leave, don't they?"

"Vampires make shitty parents," agreed Zyphre. "But I'm going to be the exception to that. This boy is mine. I made him with the woman I love. Nothing is going to take him away from me."

"You really are a strange one, Zyphre," said Erin with a laugh. "I came to see the baby, and also to tell you that Araires will be in here in a few minutes."

"Oh, thanks," he said. He stood, careful not to wake Lucian, and lay him gently back in the bassinette. He transformed back into a bat and perched on the edge of the bassinette. "By the way, where were you last night?"

"Oh, I was in Araires' room," said Erin. "I don't like births. The atmosphere is too tense and painful for my liking."

"I hear you," agreed Zyphre, looking over at Lydia.

"I could hear well enough, though," she said with a small shudder. "Who was she threatening with suffocation, incidentally?"

"Me," said Zyphre. "Well, Araires too, but mostly me."

"Clearly she didn't follow up on her threat."

"No, I just didn't speak after that," said Zyphre. "Least not until the baby was born."

"Here you are, Erin," said Araires, entering the room. "What are you doing in here?"

"Talking to Zyphre," she answered.

"Oh, you're awake, Zyphre," said Araires. "Has Lucian eaten?"

Zyphre nodded. "Yeah, Lydia fed him about half an hour ago," he said.

"And has he been changed?" asked Araires.

"…Changed?" asked Zyphre.

"Yes, Zyphre, changed," said Araires. "Has he soiled his diaper and had a new one put on him?"

"Uhhhh…"

"I'll take that as a no," said Araires. "Do I need to teach Lydia how to do that?"

"…Maybe?"

"Very well," she said. "I'll wake her up."

"No, don't," said Zyphre. "She just went back to sleep, and so did Lucian. She's exhausted. Let her sleep."

"Alright, but when he's ready to be changed he will let you know as loudly as possible," she said.

"I'll protect my ears," Zyphre said with a small smirk. He returned his gaze to the sleeping infant below him.

Araires walked over and looked down at the baby too. "Lydia said he looks like his father," she said.

"He has her eyes, though," Zyphre said softly.

"How well do you know his father?" asked Araires.

"We've met," replied Zyphre.

"And? What's he like?"

Zyphre looked up at her. "Why are asking about him?"

"I'm only wondering what kind of man he is," said Araires. "What kind of man would leave his woman alone and with child and then never once show his face? What's he like?"

Zyphre was silent, wondering how best to answer. "He doesn't deserve her," he said finally. "I have no idea how he managed to win the heart of a woman like that. But Lucian will know his father, and his father will raise him as best he can. And if he doesn't, I'll take care of him myself. That's a promise."

"Good," said Araires approvingly. "You have a black, evil aura, Zyphre, but you care about your master more than any other familiar I've seen. She's lucky to have you."

"No," he said. "I'm lucky to have her." He stopped and realized what she had just said. "Wait a minute! What do you mean a 'black, evil aura'?"

Araires only chuckled and left the room, Erin flying out after her. Zyphre left out an annoyed breath and continued his vigil of his mate and child.

As Araires had said, Lucian let them know when he was ready to be changed. He managed to give Zyphre a headache within seconds, even with his sensitive bat ears pinned flat against his head. Lydia, as it happened, already knew how to change a diaper. When that was over with, she fed him again.

"How long before he needs blood again?" asked Lydia as she switched breasts.

"Five days," said Zyphre. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of getting him the blood he needs."

"Wow, that long," said Lydia.

Zyphre made a noncommittal noise and looked down at his son. Lucian's eyes moved over to the bat, staring curiously.

"He's so attentive for a child that small," he said.

"Well, you're attentive for a child of your size too."

"Hi, Strianna," said Lydia, looking up at the doorway where Strianna was standing, ignoring Zyphre's angry exclamation.

Strianna walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "How do you feel?" she asked.

"I'm still a little tired, but good," she said.

"Is Zyphre being helpful?" she asked.

"Very much so," said Lydia warmly.

"Can I hold him?" asked Strianna.

"When he's done, yes," said Lydia. As she spoke, Lucian let her know that he was in fact done by biting none-too-lightly. "Ouch, okay, you're done. Here," she said, handing Strianna Lucian. "Mind his head. I have to use the bathroom."

Lydia swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up shakily. "Wow, that's a lot lighter," she said, walking towards the door. "I can see my feet." And with that she left the room.

Strianna looked down at Lucian and crooned. "Hi, baby. It's me, your aunt Strianna."

Lucian paid her no attention, but continued to watch his father. Zyphre flew a little closer and Lucian gurgled and smiled.

"Oh, gods, Zyphre, he has fangs!" said Strianna.

"Shut up!" hissed Zyphre. "They have escaped Araires' notice thus far and I intend to keep it that way. Don't go shouting it across town."

"Sorry," she said. "It just…caught me by surprise."

"I know," said Zyphre. "He's a half-vampire and he inherited the curse. He has fangs. He will always have fangs. If you have a problem, I will take him."

"No," said Strianna. "No, he's innocent. They just surprised me."

Lydia returned to the room, accompanied by Araires.

"So," she said. "I find the new mother all alone without her faithful familiar."

"I decided the baby's need was greater than hers," said Zyphre. "I would've been made to stay outside anyway."

"When can we go home?" asked Lydia.

"Whenever you feel up to it, dear," said Araires.

"I think we'll be leaving soon then," said Lydia. "Thank you for all your help, Araires. It means a lot."

"Oh, it's no trouble, dear," said Araires. "I'm always here if you need me. You take care of yourself, now."

"I will," she said. "And if I don't, Zyphre will."

"Damn straight," he said, flying over to land on her shoulder. Strianna walked over and handed Lydia her son. Lydia took him and held him close to her chest.

"Thank you so much again," she said to Araires, nodding as they walked out.

They were on their way home.


	8. Draesen

Three months had passed. Both Lydia and Zyphre were beginning to appreciate how great sleep really was, now that they no longer had it in their lives. What they did have was a three month old half-vampire who was still not sleeping through the night because, as Zyphre put it, it was his instinct to _not_ sleep through the night.

Zyphre was extremely helpful, being used to staying up for days at a time anyway. When Lucian woke up in the night, Zyphre would usually take him unless he needed feeding, which was strictly a job for Lydia. Lucian was developing at an extraordinary rate, already able to roll himself over onto his stomach and scoot himself an inch at a time. Zyphre said it was to get him out of the helpless stage quickly; no race had a love for half-vampires.

The three of them were all asleep for once, Lydia holding Zyphre in his bat form while Lucian slept soundly in his crib at the foot of their bed. There was a noise outside near midnight and Zyphre's ear flicked on reflex. He opened his eyes when he heard the noise again. It was footsteps outside. He lifted his head and took a deep sniff, his keen bat nose picking up the scent of somebody outside through the open window. He cursed under his breath as he recognized the scent and wriggled his way out of Lydia's embrace without waking her.

Flying silently over to the window, he looked out. He recognized the man outside. He transformed and climbed out the one-story window, shutting it behind him to block out the noise sure to come.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

The man whipped around to face him. He grinned when he saw Zyphre, revealing the fangs that marked him as a vampire. He had pale crimson eyes, and very dark scarlet hair, almost black. He was dressed in a simple black tunic. He gave a mock bow.

"My lord," he said mockingly.

"Draesen, it's more insulting to say it like that than it is to not say it at all," said Zyphre. "Now what are you doing here?"

"What, a guy can't come and check up on an old friend?" asked Draesen.

"When have I ever fallen for that?" asked Zyphre in slight amusement. He and Draesen were on shaky terms at best, but they did have a history that couldn't just be overlooked.

"One can always hope, my lord," he grinned. "I came to make sure our great Lord hadn't gotten himself killed while none of us were looking. You've been absent too long and the community is beginning to worry."

"It's only been two years," said Zyphre. "I've been MIA longer than that before."

"Okay, _I've_ been wondering where you had gotten to," said Draesen. "It's been too long since I challenged you for that title of yours."

Zyphre sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know, sometimes I think you only like me for my shiny title," he said in mock exasperation.

"Of course not, my lord," he said. "But you have to admit that it is a nice perk."

"Please, it's the _only_ perk, idiot."

"So, what do you say?" said Draesen, adopting a fighting stance. "I challenge you for your title, for old times' sake."

"_Now_?" asked Zyphre. "You want me to trounce you _now_?"

"Why not?" said Draesen. "The moon is bright. The night is still. It's the perfect time for two powerful vampires to duel."

"Tch, how cute, you think you're powerful," said Zyphre. "The setting is wrong. Lydia is sleeping just inside and she's sure to hear us."

"Oh," said Draesen, dropping his stance. "You're still her lapdog?"

"Until death do us part, Draesen," said Zyphre with a small smirk.

"You know, _she's_ been MIA for just as long as you have," said Draesen.

"Duh. We've been together," said Zyphre.

"Nerull has no idea where you've ended up," said Draesen. "Apparently you two didn't say a word to him before you left. He also can't find Lydia's ties to the castle to pull her back. Or yours, for that matter."

"I don't know why that would be," Zyphre lied smoothly. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable at how close this conversation was touching, and prayed that Lydia and Lucian would stay asleep and do nothing to alert Draesen. He alternated between friend and enemy on an irregular basis, but if he found out what had happened he would be a huge threat to all three of them.

"It's odd," said Draesen thoughtfully.

"A bit," he said. He had to get away from this conversation, and quickly. "So, you've been seeking me out to fight me for how long?"

"A couple months," he said.

"You found us that fast?" said Zyphre. "Good job."

"Zyphre, who are you talking to out here?" asked Lydia, emerging from the front door. With a rush of fear, Zyphre saw that she was holding a bundle of blankets that could only be Lucian. "Oh, Draesen! Hi! How long has it been?"

"My queen," Draesen replied, turning his back on Zyphre to face her with a bow and a flourish. Lydia started forward to greet him. "What have you got there?" he asked, noticing the bundle.

"Lydia, get back inside! Stay away from him!" snarled Zyphre.

Lydia stopped, frowning. Zyphre's voice had been harsh and commanding, but underneath it there had been…fear? His body language was tense, ready to spring. It definitely hadn't been like that when she had first stepped outside. She didn't understand. They both knew Draesen, and he was perhaps the closest Zyphre came to having a best friend in an odd, kill-you-tomorrow kind of way. What could suddenly have him so scared…?

Lucian decided to let his mother know that he was not getting enough attention with a loud, plaintive cry. Time seemed to stand still for a few moments. Then, before either of them could react, Draesen had darted forward with untraceable speed, snatched Lucian, and moved away from Lydia.

"Draesen, what are you doing?" demanded Lydia in a voice significantly higher than usual due to sudden fear.

Draesen looked down at the wailing infant. Lucian, recognizing that he was in the hands of an unfamiliar male, positively screamed, the sound ripping through his parents. Draesen's eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw the fangs.

"Silence," he commanded. He moved his hand up to Lucian's chest and lightly traced something over his heart. Lucian's screaming diminished at once into whimpers and sniffling, going limp. Draesen looked over Lucian, who shoved his fist into his mouth nervously.

"So," said Draesen finally. "Our Lord has an heir." It was a statement, not a question.

"What of it?" hissed Zyphre. "Put Lucian down, he's just an innocent kid!"

"Lucian," Draesen repeated. "It means 'light', if I'm not mistaken. How…ironic."

"Put him down, Draesen!"

Draesen ignored Zyphre. "This child is only half-vampire," he said. "I'm disappointed in you, Zyphre."

"Any child of mine would be half, you fool! Full-blooded vampires are never born!" shouted Zyphre.

"You expect the vampire community to follow an heir with diluted blood?" asked Draesen softly.

"I don't expect them to do anything, now put my son down!" He sounded slightly frantic now.

"Draesen, please…put him down," said Lydia, taking a step forward. "He's just a baby. He hasn't done anything."

Draesen looked up at Zyphre for the first time since taking Lucian. "Who was it?" he asked softly.

"What are you talking about?" spat Zyphre, unimaginable fury on his face. The only thing stopping him from tearing Draesen apart where he stood was that he was still holding Lucian.

"The woman," clarified Draesen. "Who did you rape to get this child?"

"R-rape?" repeated Zyphre in disbelief while Lydia looked shocked at the very thought. "I didn't rape anybody! I am not a savage!"

"But that would imply that someone willingly slept with a vampire," said Draesen.

"Draesen!" hissed Lydia, tired of standing to the side. "If you don't put that child down, I will incinerate you where you stand." She hadn't used her sorcery in a very long time, but as her eyes flashed with fury and flames licked at her hands, Zyphre felt a rush of pride for her.

Draesen looked slowly from her eyes to those of the child in his arms, and realization dawned on his face. "It's yours," he said softly. "I see your eyes now."

"My baby is not an it, he's a he, and he has a name!" spat Lydia.

"You both realize what you have done to an innocent child?" said Draesen. "What his life is going to be like? It really would be kinder to…"

He raised his hand as he spoke, fingers curled, over Lucian, but whatever he was going to do or say they never found out. He was more preoccupied with the point of Zyphre's sword currently directly under his chin. He swallowed. Lydia hadn't even seen him draw it.

"Yes, you know what this is, don't you, Draesen?" Zyphre's voice was low, soft, and toneless. Lydia remembered that this was his natural voice that he only switched to when he was furious. "This is my sword. Its name is Burning Madness. Do you know how it got that name? I'll tell you. It's called that because any wound it makes will burn, and burn, and burn until your body can't take the agony anymore and shuts down. And while it's doing that, you will hear voices in your head, pointing out all of your flaws and weaknesses, driving you into a screaming, insane wreck at my feet. All it takes is the smallest scratch.

"Now, I don't like using Burning Madness. You've never seen me draw it. Lydia hasn't even ever seen me draw it. Why is that, do you think? Because it makes the fight too easy. However, you are a threat to my child and my wife. I will not hesitate to use it and watch you die with a smile on my face. Now put. My son. _Down_."

Draesen held onto him a second too long. A good sized ball of fire struck him in the back; he had forgotten all about the protective mother and turned his back on her in his attempts to keep Burning Madness is view. He was pushed forward, rolling to the side to avoid touching the sword and falling heavily. He dropped Lucian as soon as he was hit, and with the same speed Draesen had used to take Lucian, Zyphre snatched him from the air and pulled him close to his chest. Lucian realized that he was in the hands of his father and began to wail again.

Lydia ran over while Draesen was still picking himself up, moving beside Zyphre. Zyphre wordlessly handed Lucian to her without taking his eyes off of Draesen and stepped protectively in front of them both. Lucian clung to the front of Lydia's nightdress tightly. Lydia made shushing noises and bounced him lightly. His cries quieted, but not by much.

"Does Nerull know?" asked Draesen, scrabbling to his feet and backing quickly away from the sword still in his face.

"No, he doesn't," said Zyphre coldly. "And you will not tell him. You will not tell anybody. _Got it_?"

"So this is why no one has heard from you," said Draesen. "Nerull would kill all three of you if he knew. Why hasn't he found out?"

"I cast permanent protective enchantments before I left," said Lydia.

"There's no harm in telling you," said Zyphre, "because I'm going to have to kill you anyway to ensure your silence."

"Wait, wait, wait," said Draesen, holding up his hands in surrender. "You don't have to kill me, because I will keep your secrets."

"Why should I believe anything you say?" hissed Zyphre.

"Because," said Draesen with a smirk, "if word gets out that our lord had an heir, every vampire with even a hint of a lust for power will be swarming to kill him to free up the position. I want that title for myself. Until next time, my lord, my queen, young prince."

Draesen transformed into a wolf and turned tail, disappearing into the trees. Zyphre glared after him for several seconds before he heard a small sob very different from Lucian's cries. He turned around saw Lydia holding Lucian tightly to her chest, her face buried in his hair and crying.

"Lydia," he said, sheathing his sword, pulling her close and holding her, Lucian between them. "Come on. Let's go inside."

Lydia only nodded, allowing Zyphre to steer her back to the bedroom. She kneeled down on the bed, still holding Lucian, crying softly, and saying, "My baby. My baby." over and over.

"Lydia," said Zyphre, pulling her close. "Lydia, please stop crying." He sounded at a loss for what to do as he often did when she cried.

"I was so scared, Zyphre," she choked. "So scared. He had Lucian and I couldn't d-do anything because I could hit Lucian by accident…"

"There's nothing we can do about it now," said Zyphre. "We have him back, and that's what matters. Is he hurt?"

"N-no, I don't think so," said Lydia, sniffling but unwilling to let go of her son long enough to even wipe her tears away. Zyphre breathed a sigh a relief. "What did he do to him…to make him stop screaming?"

"He crossed him," said Zyphre.

"What does that mean?" asked Lydia.

"He traced a cross over his heart," said Zyphre, tracing a cross in midair. "It doesn't hurt him, but all vampires know it instinctively and know they're in trouble when it's used. It's how parents control half-vampire offspring into behaving."

"Good, I thought he had hurt him," said Lydia. "Do you believe him?"

"About him not telling anyone?"

"Yes."

"Yeah," said Zyphre. "He wants to be the next lord. It wouldn't help him out at all to spread the word. Even if I didn't trust his word, he's probably miles away by now. I could track him down if I had to, but I'm not leaving you alone tonight. Nothing can pull me away."

"Zyphre…" Lydia turned towards him and gripped his coat tightly with one hand, holding the still-whimpering Lucian to her chest with the other, and burying her face in his shoulder. Zyphre tightened his hold around her. "You never told me that other vampires will try to kill our son just for being born."

"I hoped I'd never have to," said Zyphre honestly.

"I wish I had never gone outside when Lucian woke me up," whimpered Lydia. "I just saw you and was curious…I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have taken Lucian with me."

"It's out of our hands now," said Zyphre. "It's not your fault."

Lydia, still crying, rocked and made quiet, comforting noises until Lucian fell asleep. After he had been put in his crib it was Lydia's turn to be comforted. They lay on the bed, Lydia turned towards Zyphre, him whispering soft nothings while she continued to cry. It wasn't long before Lydia had finally fallen into an uneasy sleep, safe in his tight embrace. Zyphre didn't sleep that night. He stayed awake until dawn, watching over his family until the sun rose, casting its warm protection from those who wished them harm over them.

* * *

><p>Draesen is Sesshoumaru if he were a bro. He is Broshoumaru. It is now cannon.<p>

I enjoy Draesen. He was fun to write.


	9. Selene

None of them saw Draesen after that, or any other vampire for that matter. It seemed that Draesen had actually kept his word and his mouth shut. Lydia seemed perfectly content to ignore that it had ever happened, and Lucian had forgotten all about it within a few days. Zyphre did not forget the incident, but pretended to ignore it for Lydia's sake.

Lucian was six months old when he first began to talk. It was also around this time that his strength started to kick in. Fortunately and unfortunately for Zyphre, he was on the receiving end of both.

"Lucian, honey, stay still," Lydia scolded gently, adjusting the sling that held him to her.

The three of them were out shopping, Lydia carrying a bag of food. Lucian was held to her chest with a sling, doing his best to squirm out of it as he no longer liked staying still for a long time. Zyphre flew alongside them.

"Ugh, Zyphre, could you entertain him?" asked Lydia, putting the bag down and adjusting the sling with both hands. "He's going to hurt himself."

"No, he won't," said Zyphre. "He's sturdier than a normal baby." But he landed on Lydia's shoulder in front of Lucian's face regardless. "Hey, you're annoying your mother. Cut it out."

Lucian looked directly at Zyphre and said very clearly, "Dada."

"Oh my – Zyphre, did you hear that?" gasped Lydia.

"Yeah," he said with a grin. "Hi, Lucian. It's daddy."

"Dada!" Lucian said. He reached out and grabbed Zyphre's ear, yanking him towards him. Zyphre almost fell forward.

"Ow, ow, ow! Let go!" he cried, trying to pull his ear from Lucian's grasp. Lucian let out a shriek of laughter that made passerby stare and Zyphre pin his other ear flat against the piercing noise. Lydia covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her giggle. "Lydia, help!"

"Lucian, baby, let go of him," she said, laughing. She took his little fingers and gently pried them away. As soon as his grip was loosened enough, Zyphre moved up to the top of Lydia's head instead, out of reach of his son, folding his abused ear down against his head, rubbing it with a wing.

"Brat has a grip," he said resentfully.

"It's only because he loves you," said Lydia, still laughing.

"Don't laugh," pouted Zyphre.

"Better you than me," grinned Lydia.

"Love you too, bitch."

"You should be happy that he has your strength," said Lydia, picking the bag up again and continuing to walk. "He'll make a formidable opponent in the future."

"I am happy," said Zyphre. "But I'll be happier once one ear stops throbbing and both stop bleeding from that laugh."

* * *

><p>His vocabulary increased rapidly from that day, "mama" following "dada" a few hours later. Much to Lydia's displeasure, he also began to parrot various curse words; Zyphre claimed to have no idea how he could possibly have learned them. He was less amused when Lucian called him a prick a few minutes later.<p>

He was almost a year old when he began to walk, stumbling around the house with one of his parents behind him at all times. Even under the watchful eye of his parents, it was amazing the amount of trouble he still managed to get into. Lucian figured out how to get into trouble around both his parents alarmingly quickly. Lydia was patient and watchful, but she wasn't as fast as he was. Zyphre was more fit to handle his vampiric strength and speed, but he was also the more neglectful of the two. Lucian used this knowledge to know when to be brawny or sneaky.

He was incredibly intelligent for a child his age, but one thing he couldn't quite grasp was that he was not to tell anyone who his father was. Lydia had to do some very fast talking to avoid a catastrophe on his first birthday. Strianna had insisted on throwing him a party, and he had proceeded to called Zyphre "Daddy" in front of half the village.

"Zyphre is the only male figure Lucian has in his life," Lydia had said, thinking quickly, while the bat sat back and decided to let her do the damage control, as she was better at that sort of thing. "We can't get him to call Zyphre anything else."

They had smiled and nodded, but once they had turned away, she and Zyphre had both breathed sighs of relief. However, this incident raised questions of Lucian's "real" father, all of which were very awkward to answer without outright lying.

* * *

><p>"How did he even <em>get<em> on top of the pantry?" asked Lydia, dumbfounded, as Zyphre returned their two-year-old son to her.

"Fuck if I know," said Zyphre, hopping down from the top of the pantry.

"Fuck!" said Lucian delightedly, clapping his hands.

"Language, Zyphre," said Lydia, giving him a look. "And you, we don't say that word, and daddy is very bad for saying it."

"Calm down, it's just a word," said Zyphre.

"Zyphre…" Lydia's warning growl was cut off by a knock on the door.

"Saved by the bell," said Zyphre, winking to her before leaving to answer it.

"Zyphre!" Lydia sighed and looked down at the toddler in her arms. "What are we going to do with your father? I suppose I better stop him from answering the door. He's keeping a low profile," she said to him. "And who on earth is calling this late? It must be close to midnight…"

At that moment, Zyphre's furious yell sounded through the house. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE?"

Lydia immediately left the kitchen and ran to her husband's side. Zyphre was standing in the doorway, his profile rigid, fists clenched at his sides. His face was twisted in fury and Lydia couldn't remember ever seeing him so angry. Blood was dripping from his fists and she knew that his claws were cutting into his palms. He was terrifying.

The visitor was a young woman who appeared to be in her early thirties. Her hair was waist-length and jet black. Her skin was pale, almost white. She wore a tight fitting, sleeveless black gown that fell to past her ankles. Her eyes were exactly the same shade as Zyphre's, and her clawlike nails and lips were black like his.

"Is that any way to talk to your mother?" asked the woman in a honeyed voice.

"How dare you call yourself a mother!" hissed Zyphre.

"Mother…?" said Lydia in surprise. "Zyphre, is this your…?"

Zyphre's eyes darted to her for a fraction of a second, unaware that she had been there. The woman curtsied and smiled, revealing her fangs. "Call me Selene," she said. "'Mother' always sounded too old for my ears. I don't know how I'm going to deal with 'grandma.'"

"I asked you a question!" growled Zyphre. "What the fuck are you doing here!"

"I came to visit my only son and meet my grandson," said Selene.

"Don't insult my intelligence!" yelled Zyphre. "You don't care about me or Lucian! You don't give a flying fuck about our existence! I haven't even seen you in four thousand years! How did you find out about him!"

"Draesen told me," Selene said simply. "He said he thought I had a right to know since it's my family."

"Draesen is a dead man," growled Zyphre. "This isn't your family! You gave up on this family when you abandoned me!"

Selene merely shrugged. "I didn't abandon you," she said. "You were old enough to take care of yourself."

"I was six!"

"You could feed for yourself," she said. "Meanwhile, I had bigger and better things to do than be burdened with a child."

"I highly doubt that going back to your life as a hooker can be considered 'bigger and better,'" hissed Zyphre.

Selene shrugged again. "I see you've taken a mortal woman as your mate," she said. "She's very good-looking, but it won't last. One day she will die as your father did and you won't want to be burdened with a child either."

"Shut the fuck up, you horrid bitch!" he yelled. "How _dare_ you come here and say that! If you think that I won't kill you just because you're my mother, you're _wrong_, you fucking c –"

"Zyphre!" Lydia scolded, shocked.

Lucian began to squirm, so Lydia put him down. He toddled over to his father and tugged on the hem of his coat. "Daddy mad?" he asked.

"Yes, Lucian, daddy is very, very mad," growled Zyphre without looking at him.

"Mad at me?" asked Lucian with a pout.

"No, not at you," he said. "Daddy is mad at your grandmother." He gestured to her. Lucian turned his gaze on her, his eyes very wide.

"Ohh," he said. "Go 'way, gramma. You make daddy mad. Piss off!"

"Lucian!" exclaimed Lydia while Zyphre laughed outright and Selene frowned.

"That's my boy!" laughed Zyphre, picking up his son. "I have taught you well."

"Do not _encourage_ him!" said Lydia heatedly.

"You shouldn't encourage your child to be rude," said Selene. "We wouldn't want him to turn out just like you."

"Last I checked, mother dearest, I was the lord of our entire race," said Zyphre. "So I'd say I turned out well enough."

"Arrogant to the end, aren't you, son?" asked Selene, narrowing her eyes.

"I wonder who I could've gotten that from," retorted Zyphre nastily. "Now why are you here?"

"Would you believe it if I said I regretted my negligent upbringing of you and wanted to take an active role in the life of my grandson?" asked Selene imploringly.

"I think it would be the deepest insult to my intelligence if you even considered that I would," hissed Zyphre. "You don't care. You never cared. The only reason you let me hang around so long is because of dad. You didn't care about me, and you certainly don't care about Lucian. Get out."

It is very hard to look menacing while holding a toddler who had lost interest in the conversation and was playing with your hair, but Zyphre managed to pull it off. It looked as though he was trying to kill her by putting enough hate into his gaze, and Selene actually flinched.

"Zyphre…"

"Don't start!" spat Zyphre. "Get out of here! If I ever see you come near my son again I will tear off your arms and beat you to death with them!"

Selene's eyes narrowed. "How dare you threaten me," she said coldly.

"_Get out_!"

Glaring coldly, she turned to go. As she did, Lydia ran up.

"Wait!" said Lydia. Selene looked over her shoulder at her. "I wanted to thank you for keeping Zyphre alive until he could fend for himself," she said.

Zyphre looked dumbfounded for a fraction of a second before his rage returned. "Don't you dare thank her, Lydia!" he yelled. "She hasn't done a thing to deserve it!"

"At least one of you has manners," said Selene.

"I thought I told you to get the fuck away from my family!" shouted Zyphre.

"Your mate doesn't seem to mind me," she said, smirking.

"_I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU AGAIN_!" Zyphre actually put Lucian down and put his hand on the hilt of Burning Madness, dropping into a fighting stance.

"You make it too easy to get under your skin, Zyphre," she smirked. Without another word, she transformed into a dire bat and flew off into the night.

"_Stay away from my family, you fucking bitch_!" Zyphre shouted after her.

Zyphre was breathing hard through his nose, showing every intention to go after her. Lydia walked over, picked up Lucian, and put a hand on Zyphre's arm. He blinked and looked at her. He saw the look on her face and looked slightly guilty.

"Zyphre…come on," she said softly. He nodded.

Lydia went into Lucian's rarely-used room and put him in the bed. She blew out the candle and turned away to join her husband in the doorway.

"Mama!" protested Lucian, starting to get out of bed.

"No, Lucian," she said. "Mommy and daddy need to have a grown up talk. Stay in your own room tonight."

"Mama…"

"Listen to your mother!" said Zyphre, rather harsher than intended. Lydia shut the door behind her, giving a slightly exasperated look.

"I'll thank you not to vent your frustration on my son," she said.

"Sorry," he said gruffly.

Lydia frowned. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bedroom, sitting him down on the bed. He flopped backwards, lying down and covering his eyes with the crook of his elbow.

"Why are you so upset?" asked Lydia.

"I'm not upset," he said.

"I know you better than that," said Lydia. "You're upset."

Zyphre sighed and sat up again. "Yeah, I suppose upset would be the word for it," he said in a rather defeated tone.

"Your mother came to visit you," said Lydia. "I know you and she don't exactly see eye to eye, but did it really merit that response?"

"Don't exactly see eye to eye?" repeated Zyphre. "Lydia, I hate her with a burning, fiery passion. And she hates me. That was obvious from day one. I'm disgusted that she thinks I would ever let her anywhere near my son."

"She's your mother," she said. "You must like her a little."

"Good luck finding it," he said. "I just can't believe that she would just – just show up like that! She's never given a fuck about anyone but herself. You know, the original plan was to dump me with my father when I was born, and the only thing that stopped her from continuing with that plan was because he had no idea how to care for a vampire. She never intended to keep me. And I would have been just fine if she hadn't." He stopped and took a deep breath, knowing he was getting angry again. "Why did you thank her?"

"Because," said Lydia, "she kept you no matter what she felt. She kept you alive until you could fend for yourself. She could have easily abandoned you after you were born and left you to die in a forest somewhere. She kept you alive long enough for me to meet you. If I had never met you, I'd still be with Nerull. I'm grateful to her for that."

"Lydia…" Zyphre could find no rebuttal. "Well, I just hope that we never see her again. Hopefully she'll get the hint that I don't want to see her any more than she wants to see me."

"She came to see you, didn't she?"

"She had an ulterior motive," he said. "I don't know what it was, and I don't want to, but knowing her it was probably something horrible like delivering Lucian to Nerull for profit. That's exactly the kind of thing she would do."

"You know what you need right now?" asked Lydia.

"What?"

"Comfort sex."

"…I love you."

* * *

><p>I just found out that Lucian means light (Being only half vampire he can go out in the light), Lydia means nobility (born into a noble family, married to both a god and a lord), and Selene means moon (Vampire tethered to the moonlight). I looked these up after the fact. Why do I have the ability to do this?<p> 


	10. Training

Selene did not show herself again. Nor did Draesen, which was perhaps the smartest thing he could do considering how furious Zyphre was with him. Another year passed in relative calm. Strianna met someone else and was now engaged again.

Lucian was now almost four years old. His blood dependency had increased and he now needed significantly more to quell his hunger. Zyphre said often that he would begin Lucian's training when he turned five; at his age he wouldn't be able to focus for very long and wouldn't absorb as much as he could. Lydia would retort that his fifth birthday was more than a year from now, but Zyphre adamantly refused to hold how-to-be-a-vampire lessons before his son was old enough. Still, the fact remained that Zyphre returned from feedings with increasingly larger vials of blood for Lucian.

It was night. Lydia was sleeping alone; Zyphre was out feeding. It was almost three in the morning when Lydia woke to a tug on the blankets. She opened her eyes to see green eyes identical to her own staring up at her from the edge of the bed.

"Mommy," Lucian said.

"What's wrong, baby?" asked Lydia, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. The three year old scrambled up onto the bed with her.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," he whined. He pouted up at her. Lydia knew what he meant.

"Daddy is out right now," she said. "He'll be back soon and he'll bring you back some blood like he always does. Can you wait a few hours?"

Lucian shook his head. "I'm hungry now," he said.

Lydia sighed. He had started doing this a few weeks ago, coming into her room at obscene hours to say that he was hungry. She was really going to have to have a talk with Zyphre about taking Lucian with him when feeding. "Come on," she said. "Let's go wait for daddy, okay?"

"Kay!" said Lucian happily.

Lydia threw the blanket back and climbed out of bed. She took her son's hand and led him through the dark house to the kitchen, where Zyphre was most likely to appear. She lit a candle on the table and sat down, pulling her son into her lap.

"Daddy's coming home soon?" asked Lucian.

"Yes, honey, daddy will be home soon," said Lydia.

"'m hungry now," said Lucian.

"I know," she said. "Just wait a little bit longer, okay? Daddy will be back and then you can eat. I promise."

Zyphre, however, was not back soon. After twenty minutes, Lucian began to get fidgety. After an hour he was whining again.

"Where's daddy?" he asked for the third time.

"I don't know, honey," she said. "He'll be back before dawn."

"But I'm _hungry_!"

"I know," said Lydia. "There's nothing I can do about it. Wait."

"No!"

There was a flash of fangs and two sharp stabs of pain as he sank his fangs into the flesh of her wrist. Lydia jerked her arm away on reflex, the action tearing a larger wound. It began to bleed heavily.

"Ouch! Lucian!" cried Lydia. She covered the wound with her other hand, trying to stem the bleeding. "Ahh, that's painful…you can't do that, Lucian! Ow…"

"I was hungry," he said simply, as if this justified everything. He had blood on his lips. Lydia checked her wound to see that the bleeding hadn't slowed at all. She was about to say something when Lucian sniffed the air and squealed, "Blood! Blood! Daddy's home!"

He slid off of Lydia's lap and toddled as fast as he could towards the sitting room on the other side of the house. Lydia stood to go after him, but swayed and clutched her wound tighter, blood dripping from between her fingers.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Lydia heard from the other side of the house.

"Hey, Lucia…" Zyphre fell abruptly silent. Then there was a snarl and Zyphre yelled, "_What have you done_!" Lucian's scream of terror nearly stopped Lydia's heart.

Lydia ran from the kitchen towards the sound of the commotion. She entered the room to see Lucian sobbing while Zyphre held him to the floor by the back of the neck, looking livid.

"Answer me!" yelled Zyphre. "_What did you do_!"

"Zyphre!" cried Lydia, shocked. Her shock turned to protective anger. "Zyphre, unhand him!"

"Shut up, Lydia!" snapped Zyphre. "He reeks of your blood! Now you! What the hell did you do to her! _Answer the question_!"

"Daddy!" cried Lucian.

"_We never attack family_!_ NEVER, do you hear me_!"

"Mooommyyyy," Lucian sobbed.

His cry tore at her heart and she walked over purposefully and pushed Zyphre away from Lucian. He let go and stumbled from the unexpected force. Lucian got up and ran behind his mother, clinging to her nightdress and peeking fearfully around her legs.

"Get your hands off my son," she said in a low, dangerous whisper.

Zyphre glared furiously. "Go to your room," he hissed at Lucian. When he didn't move, he shouted, "_Do as I say_! _Go_!"

Lucian shrieked and fled the room. Lydia started after him, but Zyphre spat, "Don't go to him! He's being punished."

"Zyphre," said Lydia furiously. "What did you think you were doing? You were hurting him!"

"I wasn't hurting him!" said Zyphre. "He's tougher than that! I was scaring him! And he fucked up big time so I'm not that fussed to be honest."

"He's just a kid!" snarled Lydia. "He didn't –"

"_Don't_ tell me that he didn't know what he was doing!" said Zyphre. "He's old enough to know that if he bites you, you will bleed. He knew exactly what he was doing."

"I refuse to stand by and watch you manhandle my child – urg!" She swayed dangerously. Zyphre was by her side in an instant, all anger forgotten, taking her by the arm and holding her up. She was very pale. Zyphre held her shoulders as he lowered her into a chair.

"Let me see," he said, taking the hand that was still unsuccessfully trying to staunch the flow and moving it away. He inhaled sharply when he saw it. "Oh, yeah. He knew _exactly_ what he was doing."

"It's fine," she said, refusing to look at him.

"It's not fine," said Zyphre flatly. He raised his hand to his mouth and bit down, turning his head and cutting a deep wound in his palm with his fangs.

"Oh, Zyphre, don't, you don't have to…" But Zyphre had already pressed his bleeding palm to her wrist.

"He severed the artery," he said. "If I had arrived home even five, ten minutes later, you could have bled to death."

"I…I could have…?" she asked, suddenly fearful.

Zyphre nodded. "Loads of half-vampires end up killing their mortal parent like this," he said softly. He was silent for a time as he let his fast healing work its magic. He sighed heavily. "I can't let you become part of the statistic."

"He was hungry," she said. "He couldn't wait for you."

"I'm going to start his training," he said. "I have to, before this happens again. He struck at your wrist because it was probably closer to him, and he's young, so he doesn't know. But next time it might be the neck, or I might not get here in time. He needs to learn, and he needs to learn now."

"I thought you were adamantly refusing to even consider training him at his age," said Lydia with a weak smile.

"I also thought he wouldn't ever attack _you_," said Zyphre. "It seems that I have to eat my words. I hate it when I have to eat my words. Does it still hurt?" he asked, nodding to her wrist.

Lydia shook her head. "No, it feels fine now," she said.

Zyphre lifted his hand to view the wound. The skin was now so heavily bloodstained that it was hard to tell if it was still bleeding or not. Zyphre flicked his uninjured hand, gripping the sleeve. He ran the heel of his palm over her wrist, using the fabric of his coat like a rag. The wound was no longer bleeding and was almost closed.

Zyphre stood and helped her to her feet. "Come on," he said. "We're getting you to bed. You've lost a lot of blood, and you're so pale that it's beginning to scare me."

Lydia smiled and allowed herself to be led.

* * *

><p>Lucian was curled up in his bed. His bedroom door opened and he looked up, whimpering as he saw his father. He curled into a ball, trying to make himself as small as possible. Zyphre sighed.<p>

"Come with me," he said. His voice was not harsh, but Lucian flinched all the same.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry," he groveled.

"It won't ever happen again," he said. "We're starting your training. Tonight. Now come with me."

"Daaaaaddyyyy," whimpered Lucian.

"You are far from off the hook," he said, "but I'm not going to hurt you." He held his hands up.

Lucian sniffed and rubbed at his eyes, still pouting up at Zyphre, but relaxed slightly. Zyphre walked over and picked Lucian up, carrying him out of the house. He didn't stop until they were over a mile away from the village, in the heart of the forest neighboring it.

"Alright," he said, setting Lucian down. "I'm going to talk, and you're going to pay attention. Lesson one: Don't attack your mother. Lesson two: _Don't_ attack your mother. Lesson three: Don't. Fucking. Attack. Your mother. With me so far?"

Lucian nodded miserably. "I hurt mommy?" he asked, sounding close to tears.

Zyphre stopped. He hadn't been aware that Lucian had known what he had done. "Yes," he said finally. "You could have killed mommy."

"Mommy could've died?" asked Lucian, looking mortified. Erin had passed away the year before, and Lucian, who had liked the raven very much, had asked some extremely detailed questions and understood death better than most other children twice his age. Tears filled his eyes.

"She'll be okay after she sleeps for awhile," said Zyphre. "But yes, she might have if I hadn't gotten home when I did. But that's why we're here. We're going to teach you how to control yourself, so you don't kill anyone, your mother or otherwise. You don't want to kill anyone, do you?"

Lucian shook his head violently. He looked terrified. Zyphre thought perhaps he was being too honest with the toddler, but he feared Lucian simply would not understand if he sugar-coated the facts. And the facts were that Lucian was becoming dangerous, and this had to be corrected before someone paid for it.

"Alright then," he said. "The first thing we're going to do is teach you how to properly feed without killing or seriously hurting anyone. Come on; we'll go to the next town over."

* * *

><p>It was remarkable how quickly Lucian picked up on everything. He was still a toddler, and yet he was as attentive as a child thrice his age, and picked up on things almost quicker than Zyphre could teach. Very soon, Lucian was no longer sharing prey with Zyphre, but hunting and feeding on his own with perfect form. He learned to control his strength, speed, and bloodlust perfectly within weeks. The years passed without incident. When Lucian was seven, the two of them discovered quite by accident that Lucian had inherited one of Zyphre's powers usually reserved for full-blooded vampires only. Having the twisted sense of humor that he has, Zyphre decided to use this power to prank Lydia before telling her that Lucian had inherited it.<p>

"Zyphre, have you seen Lucian?" asked Lydia, entering the kitchen. "I've looked everywhere."

"And you expect me to know?" asked Zyphre. "Maybe he's out. He and Strianna's whelp have been spending a lot of time together."

"Aydin is not a whelp," scolded Lydia gently. Strianna's son was almost two years old, but despite the massive age difference, Lucian had taken a great liking to the young elf. Old Araires was still marveling at how there were two elven children in such a small town at the same time, elven children being so rare.

"He's a whelp," said Zyphre. "Lucian is teaching him exactly how to be as rude as possible."

"And who taught Lucian that?" asked Lydia, raising an eyebrow.

"I have absolutely no idea where he could have possibly contracted such disgusting behavior," said Zyphre, his mock sincerity ruined slightly by him snorting with laughter halfway through his sentence.

Lydia rolled her eyes, muttered something that sounded like an insult, and moved over to the larder. As soon as she opened the door, something small and black shot out of it like a rocket, passing extremely close to Lydia's head and making a loud fluttering noise. Lydia shrieked and ducked on reflex. Two voices behind her were laughing.

"Scared you, mom," smirked the bat on Zyphre's shoulder. He looked exactly like Zyphre's bat form, except he was a little smaller and his eyes were dark green.

"Someone forgot to tell me that Lucian could transform," said Lydia. "You're cuter than your father."

"What! He is not!"

"And I wasn't scared, I was startled," she said. "There's a difference. Who's idea was it?"

"Mine," said Zyphre.

"You're hilarious," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Would you have married me if I wasn't?" asked Zyphre with a cocky smirk.

"I married you because of how good you are at certain activities."

"Oh, is that all I am to you?" demanded Zyphre in mock hurt.

"It might be if you keep these pranks up," she said. "I am sick of falling for them. At least get some new material next time."

"Why you – !"

Lucian raised his nose to the air and sniffed. "Hey…isn't that…what's his name…? Draesen?"

"What!" demanded Zyphre.

"How would you know Draesen's scent?" asked Lydia.

"He held me once," said Lucian. "I only just recognized it."

"Zyphre, is he…?"

"Yes," growled Zyphre. "Draesen is nearby."


	11. Trust

"Stay inside, both of you," said Zyphre.

"Absolutely not," replied Lydia. "I'm not letting you go out there alone. And I never really paid him back for taking Lucian."

Zyphre let out a frustrated growl low in his throat, but nodded.

"What about me?" piped up Lucian.

"Stay here!" shouted his parents in unison.

Lucian flattened his ears and hopped off his father's shoulders. Zyphre grabbed Burning Madness, which had lately been spending a lot of time propped up against the kitchen wall, and buckled it back on before running to join Lydia waiting in the doorway.

He had just made it to the doorway when Lucian called after him, "Wait!"

"What is it?" asked Zyphre harshly.

"How do I change back?" asked Lucian blankly, gesturing to his bat body.

"I don't know; how did you get into that form? Just do that again!"

"You don't know?" asked Lydia curiously.

"No, I don't," said Zyphre. "It's been second nature to me for something like eight thousand years; how do you set your hand on fire every time you're pissed off? Ha, can't answer, can you? Exactly. We'll figure it out when we get back, now just stay put!"

Lydia rolled her eyes at Zyphre's back. "Mature to the end, your father," she said. "Stay here."

She caught up with Zyphre standing outside the house, looking around. "What I don't get," he said as soon as she joined him, "is why he's here now. It's evening, not nighttime. He's got to have a very good reason, because he's going to be badly burned when he gets here."

"Maybe he's hurt," said Lydia.

"If he wasn't before, he is now," said Zyphre. "Idiot."

They knew he was nearby, but he did not show himself. After a few minutes, Zyphre transformed in order to check that his scent was still nearby. It hadn't moved. The sun had set when his scent moved closer to them, finally coming into view.

True to Zyphre's word, he was covered in angry burns from the sunlight. He was out of breath and bleeding from a wound in his side.

"Draesen, are you okay?" asked Lydia despite herself, and even Zyphre's angry glare flickered when he saw his old friend's wounds.

"I'll live," he said. "My lady." He tried to bow respectfully but stumbled.

"Why don't you come in," said Lydia without thinking. Zyphre groaned and facepalmed.

"Lydia," he said, running the hand he had just facepalmed with through his hair. "Haven't I taught you anything? You never say that to a vampire, now he can come and go whenever he pleases – hold it, you."

He grabbed the doorframe, blocking Draesen's path with his arm. "Come on, Zyphre, the lady invited me in," he smirked. "You know the rules, even if you choose to ignore them."

Zyphre glared. "Slip of the tongue may give you the _ability_," he said, "but if you enter my house I'll slit open your other side."

"Zyphre, he's hurt," scolded Lydia gently. When he didn't move, Lydia took his arm and lowered it for him. "Honestly, I thought you two were supposed to be best friends forever or some other such nonsense."

Zyphre grudgingly moved aside, but the second Draesen had crossed the threshold there was a flash of claws. Draesen cried out in pain and grabbed at his other side.

"Zyphre!" cried Lydia, shocked.

"What?" said Zyphre. "I'm a man of my word. I told him I would slit open his other side if he entered my house. I always keep my word."

"You didn't keep your word last night when you told me I wouldn't be able to walk this morning," retorted Lydia smoothly.

Zyphre stared at her, looking rather hurt, as if he couldn't quite believe that she had actually said that. Draesen laughed. "In defense of Zyphre's pride, that was way below the belt," he said, smirking.

"Shut up, Draesen," said Zyphre. "I don't need you to defend me."

"Touchy, touchy," said Draesen. "What are you angry about anyway?"

"Let's think," said Zyphre. "The last time we met, you stole my son and tried to kill him. Then you went and told my _mother_, whom I _hate_, about him, prompting her to show up here and cause a nice little scene. I think I have the right to be a little miffed."

Draesen shrugged. Then, with a grimace, he tightened his hold on the side that had previously been injured.

"Do you want me to look at it?" asked Lydia hesitantly.

"Have you suddenly forgotten everything you know about vampires?" asked Zyphre. "He'll be fine in an hour."

"Actually," said Draesen, "yes, that could be very helpful."

Zyphre gave him a confused look as Lydia led him to the kitchen. Lucian appeared to have vacated the room at some point while they were waiting for Draesen, as he was nowhere to be seen. Draesen lowered himself into a chair, undoing his cloak and pulling his shirt over his head. The burns from the sunlight were fading and the wound Zyphre inflicted was already closing. The other wound was still wide open and bleeding.

"What…?" said Zyphre upon seeing the wound. "What did that?"

"Nerull's sickle," spat Lydia, staring at the wound. "What other weapon could do that?"

"Is she right?" Zyphre asked Draesen. "Did Nerull do this?"

"Yeah," said Draesen. "He's not too happy with me at the moment."

"Nerull's sickle prevents fast healing," said Lydia. "You remember? You've still got the scar on your back." Without waiting for Zyphre's answer, Lydia left the room, presumably to get the med kit she had buried somewhere, untouched.

"What did you do?" asked Zyphre.

"I kept your secret," said Draesen.

"You…?"

"Kept my mouth shut, yeah," said Draesen. "See, Nerull doesn't know a thing, but he suspects. He thinks you two have eloped. And seeing as you've been on your 'mission' for almost a decade and never said a word to him, he's right to think that."

"It was only a matter of time," said Lydia sadly, reentering the room with a med kit. She kneeled down next to Draesen and began to clean his wound. "Nerull's sickle stops the fast tissue restoration vampires have, so you're going to have to heal this naturally. It'll scar."

"I don't care about that," said Draesen, wincing slightly.

"Oh, stop crying; you're a man, aren't you?" said Lydia as she started to bandage him up.

"You know, it's perfectly alright to hurt him a little," said Zyphre leadingly.

"Be quiet," said Lydia. "So? What does he know? Does he know where we are? I'd assume not or else he'd be here already."

"No," groaned Draesen. "No, he doesn't know where you are. He doesn't know anything for certain, and it's really pissing him o – ah! Careful! – off. He's used to knowing everything, being a god and all. He thinks I know where you are and started interrogating me. I refused to tell him anything. So he struck me with his sickle."

Lydia rolled her eyes at nothing in particular. "He has the _worst_ temper," she said angrily. "And he wonders why I could have possibly have left him."

"Why did you come during the day?" asked Zyphre.

"I didn't want to," said Draesen. "I was hurt and couldn't move very fast. The sun rose before I could make it here and I had to dive into a stupid cave!"

"You idiot!" said Zyphre. "Why did you have to run out like that if you didn't think you would make it here in time?"

"Because maybe I wanted to make sure you knew that Nerull was trying to find you so that you'd be on your guard!"

A ringing silence met Draesen's words. Zyphre seemed at a loss for words, and looked away instead of answering. Lydia broke the silence by pulling tightly on the bandages, causing Draesen to cry out, and saying cheerfully, "There you go! I've put something on it to help slow the bleeding and ease the pain. They should kick in and stop stinging soon."

"Ahg…thanks, Lydia," said Draesen. He grabbed his shirt from the table where he had thrown it and pulled it back over his head. "You're a lifesaver."

"Not really," she said. "I just know my ex-husband's work."

"Come to think of it, why do we even _have_ that?" asked Zyphre, nodding to the med kit that Lydia was packing up. "We don't _need_ it."

"Excuse me, Lucian heals slower than you do, and I don't heal quickly at all," she said.

Lucian poked his head around the doorframe, humanoid again. "I heard my name," he said. He saw Draesen and withdrew slightly.

"He looks even more like you than he did the last time I saw him," said Draesen to Zyphre. "You must be so proud."

"Lay off, Draesen," growled Zyphre.

Lucian hesitantly entered the room and darted behind his father, peeking around at Draesen. He could not have remembered the incident itself, but he'd been told by his father exactly what had happened more than once.

"Hi," he said awkwardly.

"Hello," replied Draesen. "My name is Draesen. Your name is Lucian, correct?"

Lucian nodded while Zyphre looked between the two of them, looking very much like he wanted to separate them. Lydia rolled her eyes and clapped her hands together once, loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"Well," she said, standing up with the first aid kit. "Draesen has earned _my_ trust again, and if he hasn't proven himself enough to _you_ then I think you have a deeply ingrained trust issue. Lucian, honey, it's time for bed. Let's leave daddy and Draesen alone so they can make up without an embarrassing audience."

"Oh, come on, Lydia…!"

"Oh, you don't have to…!"

"That's not fair…!"

"Hey, come back…!"

But she had already left, leading Lucian by the hand. Zyphre and Draesen both looked after her with identical expressions of disbelief that she would leave them alone and despair that she did. The two glanced at each other, their eyes meeting. They quickly looked away.

"You still haven't earned my trust back," said Zyphre. "For all I know, you told Nerull all about us and let him hurt you just so you could come and lower our guard."

"I didn't," said Draesen. "I was a dick last time we met, I know that, I just…Zyphre…you're my best friend, and I love Lydia like a sister. I wouldn't ever betray you two. I kept all your trysts secret back then, so why don't you trust me to keep this?"

"Ah…"

They exchanged another awkward glance, Zyphre looking away first. A very awkward silence penetrated the air between them. It was Zyphre who broke the silence over a minute later.

"So…"

"So…"

Not another word was spoken, and Lydia returned to see the two of them looking determinedly in opposite corners with the occasional awkward glance at each other. She gave an amused smile, knowing that the two of them were on good terms again.

* * *

><p>Herpderp I had all of the writer's block on this chapter and I ended it before I should have. Next chapter will conclude act II.<p> 


	12. Lydia

Draesen and Zyphre picked up their friendship as normal after that, though they were perhaps a bit more formal than they usually would be. Draesen showed up quite a bit in the years to come, though Zyphre was never completely at ease with Draesen being close to his son.

Lucian's aging slowed immensely shortly afterwards; he was now out of the helpless stage and no longer needed to age at the same rate as a human. He now aged about one year for every fifty years or so. Lydia's aging, on the other hand, was not slowing.

A little over a century had passed before Lydia started casting restoration spells on herself every morning. This was less for her own vanity and more for Zyphre's sake. She knew very well that she would age and die, but that didn't stop her from not wanting Zyphre to be stuck with an old woman.

Araires died at the turn of the century, her daughter Airione arriving to take over the role of healer. Aydin, Strianna's son, grew to adulthood and found his own bride, making it screamingly apparent that Lucian, who was older than Aydin and yet still had the body and mind of a ten year old, was clearly not fathered by a mortal. This led to extremely uncomfortable, yet unavoidable questions. Lydia admitted that Lucian's father was not mortal, but refused to say who or what he was.

"You realize what will happen when you die, Lydia," said Airione. "Lucian will be maybe fourteen at the oldest and he'll have no one to take care of him."

Zyphre had given an almost inaudible whimper at this and snuggled into Lydia's neck. Lydia had replied confidently, "When I'm gone, Lucian's father will come for him. That was our agreement. I have complete faith in his father to raise our son right."

Zyphre had glowed under her faith in him, but icy terror twisted his insides for the first time; one day, Lydia was going to die, and he would have to raise their son alone.

And so one, two, three hundred years passed. Lucian grew and now had the physical body of a thirteen year old. Zyphre gradually ran out of things to teach him, letting him have free reign over his hunger just as long as Zyphre found no corpses later. As Lucian's training grew less strict, Zyphre spent more and more time with Lydia. If Lucian was out hunting, and he was out hunting quite a bit more than Zyphre, often the two of them could be found in their bedroom, cuddling and sometimes a bit more.

Lydia was perfectly content to let things continue as they were, but she knew why they were happening: her time was running out. She knew that Zyphre subconsciously was well aware of this and was making use of the time they had, but seemed to be doing all in his power to ignore it would happen. She wished he wouldn't. Doing this would only make it harder when her time came.

Lucian, on the other hand, was blissfully unaware that his mother would ever not be there for him. He was acting like a young teenager, exactly as he should be. Young and reckless, he was invincible and nothing could shake his world.

If average life expectancy were considered, Lydia had roughly two hundred years left of her life. She was just a few years over five hundred, yet because of the daily restoration spells she didn't look a day over three hundred.

"I love you, Lydia," murmured Zyphre.

They were cuddled together in bed under the blankets, both of them less than clothed, wearing only the bare minimum that they managed to pull back on after their activities. Lydia was leaning against Zyphre with her head on his chest, her eyes closed. Zyphre had one arm around her waist and was stroking her hair.

"I love you too," whispered Lydia, snuggling deeper. She buried her face in her elbow and coughed a few times.

"Lydia?"

"No, it's nothing," said Lydia sleepily.

Zyphre slipped his hand underneath her bangs. "Lydia, you're burning up," he yelped.

"It's probably just a cold," said Lydia, yawning. "I'll get a good night's sleep and be better in the morning."

"You better be right," said Zyphre. "If you're not, I'm dragging you to Airione."

"Mm, I'm counting on it," she murmured. "Good night. I love you."

Lydia gave a sigh and was asleep. Zyphre laid her down without waking her, making sure she was propped up. He brushed her hair out of her face, his fingers brushing her forehead. The flesh was so hot it nearly burned his fingers. This concerned him more than he could put into words; she had been sick before, of course, but he could never remember her ever having a fever this high…

Zyphre pulled the blankets up high on her and snuggled close to her, pulling her into his embrace without waking her. He prayed she was right and it wasn't anything serious.

Zyphre woke up to the sound of Lydia's coughing. As with last night, she coughed a few times and gradually stopped. Zyphre moved his hand up to check her fever and inhaled sharply when he could feel the heat a good half inch from her flesh. She began to cough again, the sound waking herself up. She sat up, coughing into her arm. Zyphre sat up with her, rubbing her back gently.

"Lydia," he said a little desperately. "You're sick. You should go to Airione."

"I –" Lydia's answer was cut off by another coughing fit. She groaned.

"Are you okay?" asked Zyphre.

"My chest hurts," she said. Zyphre was slightly frightened by how hoarse her voice was.

"Should I get Airione over here?" asked Zyphre.

Lydia coughed again, but managed to nod.

"Lucian!" called Zyphre. After a minute, their son ran into the room.

"Yeah, dad?" he asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion upon seeing his mother doubled up, her fist in front of her mouth and shaking slightly with his father's hand resting lightly on her back.

"Your mother isn't feeling well," said Zyphre. "Go get Airione and bring her here."

"Is mom okay?" asked Lucian, concerned.

"She will be as soon as you bring Airione here," replied Zyphre as another coughing fit racked Lydia's body. "Go on, get lost."

Lucian nodded and ran out of the room. As soon as he was gone, Zyphre stood up, putting a hand gently on Lydia's shoulder. "Do you need anything?" he asked.

"Water," croaked Lydia.

"Water," Zyphre repeated. "I can do that. Be right back."

He had just returned with the water when Lucian returned with Airione. Zyphre, quick as ever, had transformed and nestled himself on Lydia's shaking shoulder before the healer had walked through the door.

"What seems to be the problem?" asked Airione, her soft voice very unlike her mother's.

"She's coughing and she has a fever so high I can feel it from here," answered Zyphre, for Lydia was too busy drinking to answer.

"Thank you, Lucian, for leading me here," said Airione. "I'll take care of your mother. Run along now."

Lucian looked desperately at his mother, but nodded and walked out of sight. Airione gave Zyphre a meaningful look, both of them knowing full well that Zyphre's aura was a problem for her as well, but Zyphre dug his claws into the fabric on Lydia's shoulder and bared his teeth, plainly stating that he was not going anywhere.

Airione sighed and moved to the bed, touching Lydia's forehead when she reached her. She clicked her tongue when she felt how high it was. She continued to examine Lydia for a long time, waving Zyphre off of her shoulder at one point, where he promptly perched on the foot of the bed as close as he could be without getting in the way.

After much longer than Zyphre was comfortable with, Airione stood up. "She has a cold," said Airione. "It's a bit of a serious cold, but a cold. She shouldn't leave her bed for a few days, and Lucian should be kept away because she's contagious, but she'll be fine."

"Thank the gods," breathed Zyphre, darting from the footboard to Lydia's shoulder and snuggling into her neck.

"Ah, Zyphre, no, you heard her. I'm –" She broke off to cough. "– ugh…contagious."

"And?" said Zyphre. "I can't catch anything you've got."

"No, but Lucian can, and who's going to take care of him?" asked Lydia. "You can carry it to him even if you don't get sick."

"Ah…you're right, but…Lydia…I want to stay with _you_."

Lydia coughed violently again. Zyphre flinched and folded his ears down slightly. "Actually," she said when she had recovered, "maybe Lucian should stay with Strianna for a few days. Just until I'm not contagious anymore. You've been in here since I've been sick; you're probably carrying it already, Zyphre."

Zyphre nodded and flew off to let Lucian and Strianna know, returning to her side the second he was finished.

A few days came and went. Lydia did not get better. Airione checked in on her every single day at random intervals, and Zyphre never left her side. He stayed in his bat form for most of this time, as he never quite knew when Airione was going to pop up. He stayed with Lydia constantly, and it was only after he fainted from hunger that Lydia sent him away to feed.

Lydia seemed to be getting worse as time went on. Her fever refused to break and her coughing fits got worse. Much worse. She was coughing up blood within a few days and each fit stole away all her strength. Her throat was raw from it and her voice was getting raspy and faint. Some days she could barely talk at all.

Still, she fought. Airione had confirmed that her cold had developed into pneumonia, and she was hiding her surprise that Lydia had lasted this long with difficultly. Zyphre noticed this, though Lydia didn't appear to. After a month, however, her struggles weakened.

Zyphre felt utterly helpless. Everything he could do for her was out of his hands. He could only sit by and watch as the woman he loved more than life itself withered away. He wanted to just wrap his arms around her and hold her for an eternity, but Lydia told him to transform back into a bat whenever he tried or else he'd get caught. He spent every waking hour curled up against her, never sleeping until his body passed out from exhaustion. Lydia worried more about how he was pushing himself more than she worried about herself.

Lucian was brought back home after a month of his mother being sick. Zyphre took this as a very ominous sign, like they were giving him time to be with his mother before the end. Lydia was very weak, though her coughing was still rough and powerful. Lydia had begun to say dark things that Zyphre didn't want to hear about what would happen after she was gone.

* * *

><p>Lucian was asleep. The moon was high in the sky. Lydia was sleeping lightly, her slumber frequently interrupted by violent coughing fits. She was wheezing, and her breathing was more labored than it had been in the past weeks. Zyphre was wide awake, curled on Lydia's pillow next to her head, stroking her hair with a claw, hopelessness in his eyes. He hoped and prayed every day that she would recover, but his subconscious had reached the ultimatum for him. He knew it might be the only thing to do, but was hoping against hope it didn't have to come to it.<p>

Draesen was there too, in his animal form. The wolf was sitting on the floor with his muzzle resting on the bed, the tip of his nose touching Lydia's leg, hidden under multiple blankets. He was making a quiet, keening, dog-like whine that sounded exactly the way Zyphre felt.

There was a soft knock on the open door. Zyphre and Draesen both looked up to see Airione standing in the doorway, staring curiously at the wolf. Draesen turned his gaze to Zyphre before laying his head down in its previous position with a dog-like whimper.

"Zyphre," she said softly. "Come here."

Zyphre looked down at Lydia's sleeping face and back. Draesen flicked his ear in a way that said _go; I'll stay_, unable to speak in his wolf form. Zyphre flew over to Airione, who shut the door behind them.

"Why is there a wolf?" she asked.

"An old friend dropping in for a visit. What's wrong?" asked Zyphre. She had never asked to speak to just him before, and it scared him.

"I really hate to say this, but you're going to have to prepare yourself to hear it," said Airione. "She's dying."

It was like a blow to the gut. Zyphre nodded slowly. "She's had the scent of death on her for a few days," he said softly, "but I kept hoping that she'll get better. She's pulled herself out of deadly situations before. I know she'll…" Zyphre landed clumsily on the nearest piece of furniture, his wings no longer able to keep him upright.

"She's not going to get better," said Airione gently, touching his shoulder. "She's gotten worse since the last time I looked at her, and there's a good chance she won't last the night."

Zyphre shook his head rapidly, trying to get control of himself, trying to find a shred of anything that made sense…

"The only thing we can do for her now is make her as comfortable as possible until her time comes," she said. "I'm sorry. There's nothing else I can do for her."

There was a long hesitation before Zyphre gave a tiny nod. "Okay," he said in a voice very unlike his own.

"What about Lucian?" asked Airione. "Lydia said that his father would come for him when she passed away."

"Lucian's father is already here," said Zyphre quietly. "Lucian will be taken care of. I promise."

She nodded. "I'm sorry," she said again, opening the door for him and walking away.

Zyphre flew through the door and snuggled against Lydia's side, his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to fight back all his emotions. Draesen prodded him with his muzzle and let out a confused whine.

"Draesen," said Zyphre in low voice. "I appreciate you coming here, but do you think you could leave me alone with her tonight?"

Draesen yipped and walked out of the room, looking back at them over his shoulder in the doorway before disappearing. Lydia began to cough, but even her coughing sounded weak.

"Zyphre," she said. Her voice was very faint.

"I'm right here," he said.

"Zyphre," she breathed. "You'll take care of Lucian, right? You'll raise him? You'll help him grow up into a good man?"

"Of course I will," he said. "And you'll be right next to me, making sure I don't screw up too badly."

Lydia gave a hollow laugh that sounded painful, ending in another weak coughing fit. "I'm not stupid, Zyphre," she said. "I know that my life is almost at its end."

"Lydia, please, don't talk," said Zyphre. "Save your strength."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry for leaving you."

Zyphre transformed, shut the door, and returned to the bed. He pulled Lydia close to him and held her as tightly as he dared. She didn't even have the strength to protest and tell him he'd be seen. She knew how hard this ordeal was on him and was not about to crush him by denying him holding her in what was possibly her final hours. Zyphre was quiet as he worked up the courage to say what he didn't want to say.

"Maybe there is a way," he blurted out.

"Hm? What do you mean?" she asked faintly.

There was no going back now. "I…I could…" He swallowed and took a deep breath. "I could Turn you."

"Turn me?" said Lydia in disbelief. "You're offering to make me into a vampire?"

"It would save your life," he said. "It's up to you. It would take a day for the transformation to happen, so you would have to hold on just a little longer, but you would live forever."

"Would it make you happy?" asked Lydia.

"To Turn you? Not in the least," said Zyphre. "I can't believe I even offered to give you my curse, it was selfish, you're right, I'm sorry…"

Lydia smiled and shook her head. "No, Zyphre," she said. "Would it make you happy to have me live forever by your side?"

Zyphre turned her around to face him. "More than anything," he said.

"Then I _want_ you to Turn me," she said with a smile. "I want you to return to your old self."

"Lydia…you're certain?"

Lydia nodded. "Yes."

Zyphre sat her up slowly and pulled the collar of her nightdress down to expose her shoulder. "Now how this works is I feed on you and then you drink some of my blood."

Lydia nodded. "Does it hurt?" she asked. "The biting?"

Zyphre hesitated. "I'll be gentle," he said, avoiding the question.

"I know you will," she said. She cocked her head to the side and held her hair to the side, exposing her neck more. "I'm ready."

Zyphre positioned his mouth over her jugular, feeling the weak pulse just beneath the surface. The tips of his fangs brushed her skin and a shiver ran down her spine. Slowly, he bit down, blood beading around his fangs. His razor-sharp fangs cut through her flesh like butter, and all his effort went into not hurting her too badly. It wasn't until his fangs had sunk as deep as they could go that Lydia finally whimpered in pain.

He removed his fangs and began to drink her blood. Lydia's blood tasted of death and sickness, but her unique taste was still there underneath it. He drank only the bare minimum to make the ritual work. When he was finished, he ran his tongue gently over the wounds to speed their healing. The chemical in his saliva worked independently of her, closing her wounds in a matter of minutes. Only when the bleeding had completely stopped did Zyphre sink his fangs into his own wrist.

Lydia took his bleeding wrist and raised it to her mouth, mimicking what he had done when he fed from her. Zyphre was appalled that this was happening, but it was too late to turn back. He let her drink more of his blood than was strictly necessary, both to make up for his end of the ritual and to give her as much of his strength as he could.

"You'll be fine now," he said a little desperately when she finally released his wrist. "You'll be fine."

He softly kissed the wounds he had made on her neck. Sitting with his back against the headboard, he pulled Lydia onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. She laid her head on his chest with a sigh. Zyphre kissed her softly on the top of the head and nuzzled her, breathing in the sweet smell of her hair.

"You'll be fine now," he repeated in a thick voice. "Just hold on a little longer."

"I'll try," she said. "I love you so much, Zyphre. I'm glad I got to live my life with you."

"I love you more than anything," he said. "Be quiet now, and hold on just a little longer, for me."

"Okay," she breathed.

"Promise me one thing, Lydia," Zyphre said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Please stop coughing," he said.

Lydia smiled. "I promise. I won't cough anymore."

She didn't.

* * *

><p>It was raining. Most of the Lydel congregated in the cemetery just outside the village. Zyphre and Lucian sat up in a large tree in their bat forms, Lucian clinging to Zyphre's fur the way a newborn bat clings to its mother, Zyphre with his wings around his son. Lucian was openly crying. Zyphre's grief was beyond tears as the funeral procession carried her casket past their tree.<p>

It had been close to dawn when Lydia had let out a long sigh and her breathing had finally stopped. Zyphre knew the moment she was gone because she looked truly at peace for the first time since she had gotten sick. His howl of grief had attracted both Lucian and Airione, who had been sleeping in the sitting room to stay close to her patient.

It was Airione's scream that brought him back to the surface. The proverbial cat was then let out of the proverbial bag, but Zyphre had simply said that he was Lucian's father, thanked her for doing all she could for Lydia, kissed Lydia's blue lips one final time, and departed with his shell-shocked son.

He couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt as they lay the casket down in front of the dug grave and the priest began to speak. He had to wonder if she would have survived another night if he hadn't weakened her by taking her blood.

Nobody seemed to be questioning the absences of Zyphre and Lucian. It was known that if a master or mistress dies, the familiar dies with them, so it was assumed that Zyphre too was dead. Lucian, it was known, had been taken away by his father.

Zyphre felt eyes on him and locked eyes with Strianna. Strianna was surrounded by her family, crying softly, but he knew that all the pain in her eyes she was feeling for him. Zyphre nodded once to show he understood and held Lucian more securely.

The priest talked on and on before calling up the people who had known her best to talk about her. Strianna's speech was wonderfully done, sounding innocent enough to the audience but worded so that Zyphre knew all the comforting things were directed at him.

When the speeches were done, the casket was lowered into the ground and dirt was thrown over it. Most of the people went home after that, though a few stayed to pay their respects. Night was falling when Strianna was the only one left. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still grey.

She walked over to their tree and places a dozen roses on the roots. She looked up and gave Zyphre a sad smile. "Goodbye, Zyphre," she said softly. "Go to her." With that, she walked away.

It wasn't until she was out of sight and they were completely alone that Zyphre transformed and dropped from the tree, Lucian following right after him. Zyphre picked up the roses Strianna had left and carried then over to the grave.

"Can I?" asked Lucian, sniffing.

Zyphre nodded and held out the bouquet. Lucian took a single rose from it and lay it on his mother's grave. Zyphre lay the rest of them on her grave and sat in front of it. Lucian sat down next to him, leaning against his father's body. Zyphre wrapped an arm around his son. Lucian had cried himself to sleep within the hour.

"What am I going to do without you, Lydia?" he asked hopelessly when Lucian was asleep. "You've been gone for less than a day and I'm so lost already. I miss you so much. Was it my fault? Did I weaken you too much? Did I take away your last chance at resistance? Lydia…why did you leave us? Leave me?"

He didn't speak again for several hours. The silence was broken by a voice behind him.

"So."

"…Fuck off, Draesen," said Zyphre miserably.

"I came to pay my respects," said Draesen. To Zyphre's mild surprised, Draesen lay several lilies on the grave and sat down next to Zyphre. "How are you holding up?"

"Do you remember how you felt when Katrine was staked right in front of you?" asked Zyphre hollowly.

"Of course I do," said Draesen.

"Take that pain, multiply it infinitely, and leave me alone," said Zyphre.

Draesen was silent for a short while before saying, "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know," said Zyphre. "I told her before we left that I would follow her in a heartbeat if she died before me, but now…how can I? I have a son who's just lost his mother and needs me. I can't just abandon Lucian." He looked down at the sleeping form of his son.

"You really loved her, didn't you?" asked Draesen.

"I would have died for her," he said. "Without question. I wish it were me here instead."

"She's glad it's not," he said. "I know you know that."

"The centuries with her, they…they felt like they were stolen out of someone else's life," said Zyphre. "And now, I…"

Draesen looked over at Zyphre, watching without comment as Zyphre struggled to get control of himself.

"I just want to hold her again," he finally whimpered, his voice cracking. "I never wanted anything so bad."

His eyes burned, and he turned his face sharply away so that Draesen wouldn't see. Draesen put a hand on Zyphre's shoulder and he found it that much harder to fight his battle.

"You still have Lucian," he said. "He's Lydia's son as much as yours and he has exactly her eyes. You can always remember her when you look at them."

"Why do you even care?" asked Zyphre brokenly.

"Lydia was my friend," said Draesen simply. "And you're like my brother. Then she showed up and became part of your package, so she became like my sister. I miss her too."

"How am I going to live without her, Draesen?" he asked, turning back to look at him.

Draesen shrugged. "The wound is still fresh, but you did it for millennia before you met her," he said. "And you can do it again now that she's gone."

Zyphre buried his face in his knees as he finally lost the battle with tears. Suddenly he didn't even care that someone was with him, the person he loved more than life itself was gone forever and he was sobbing, the pain of her loss tearing up his soul.

"I tried to Turn her, Draesen," he admitted brokenly to his knees. "She was dying and I offered and she let me just to see me happy again. What if I killed her, Draesen? What if I took away the strength she needed when I fed off her?"

"You didn't," said Draesen firmly. "She had the strong scent of death on her. No matter what, she wasn't going to last through the night. You were just one day too late."

"That makes me feel so much better," said Zyphre sarcastically.

"Stop trying to hide your tears," said Draesen as Zyphre tried to erase the signs. "You _do_ have the disadvantage of living. You're allowed one moment of weakness, my lord."

"Thank you, you horrible, apathetic bastard," he choked, wrapping his arms around his knees and burying his face in them, sobs wracking his body.

By the time the sun rose, there was no sign that anyone had sat vigil at the grave. The three vampires were long gone, leaving nothing behind but a pile of flowers and a new message on Lydia Liadon's gravestone that had not been there before, looking very much like it had been carved there by a claw. Written underneath her name, birth date, and death date was this message:

_We'll see each other on the other side. That's a promise._


	13. ACT III: Madness

It was dark. Dark and cold. So cold. Zyphre shivered, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the pressing darkness. No matter how long he waited, the darkness was absolute. He sank to his knees, balling himself up to preserve heat.

A light caught his eye and he looked up. An oval of soft white light was coming slowly towards him. A woman's shape was at the center of it, walking gracefully. She seemed immune to the cold, dressed only in a strapless white gown.

"Lydia…" Zyphre's voice cracked. He struggled to his feet.

Lydia gave him a soft smile. "Zyphre…" Her voice sounded echoic and distant. She stopped walking, the circle of light around her engulfing Zyphre. It was like a warm breeze; all the cold of the darkness had vanished.

"Lydia, are you really…?" He reached out to touch her arm; his hand went through her. "Lydia…?"

Lydia gave him a truly sad smile and put her hand on top of his. It was slightly transparent and felt like barely more than wind. "You can't touch me anymore," she said softly.

"Lydia, don't say that," he breathed. "I want to touch you again. I want to hold you again. Lydia, come back to me!"

She shook her head slowly. "I can't," she said. "But I want you to know. We _will_ be together in the afterlife. I'm waiting for you. I won't go to my next life without you. I promise."

"Lydia…I want you back now," said Zyphre a little desperately, stepping closer. "Please, stay here with me."

She shook her head again. "I have to go," she said softly. "You have to let me go."

"No, Lydia…" She turned her back on him, looking back over her shoulder with sad eyes. "Lydia, come back!" She started to walk away. "I need you…" She continued to walk, but tears filled her eyes. "_I'm not letting go of you again_!" Zyphre lunged forward and grabbed her wrist, despite it being incorporeal. To both of their great surprise, Zyphre's hand closed around it.

"Ah…? Zyphre…" Lydia stopped and looked up at him, looking surprised and a little afraid.

"I'm not," he repeated. "I can't."

He pulled her close and wrapped his arms tightly around her, one hand on her lower back and the other tangled in her hair. Lydia remained surprised for a moment before wrapping her now solid arms around him. She didn't understand how he could have done that…

Zyphre buried his face in her hair, breathing in her sweet scent like a man dying of thirst. Lydia tightened her hold and closed her eyes, a single tear falling. Neither of them said anything, but then, nothing needed to be said. He was content to stay here forever, content to stand here with her until death claimed him as well. She was the only thing that was real.

"Zyphre. Wake up. It's dusk."

Zyphre's heart sank as he was roused. It hadn't been real. Draesen was shaking his shoulder, removing his hand as Zyphre sat up. He resisted the urge to hit Draesen for his interference for a moment, and failed the next moment, whacking Draesen on top of the head.

"Ah! Ow, what was that for?" demanded Draesen.

"I was holding her again," answered Zyphre moodily.

Draesen looked surprised, followed by a too understanding look. "I'm sorry," he said. "I miss her too. Where's Lucian?"

"Lucian!" Zyphre called. There was a sleepy groan near the back of the cave they had stayed in to escape the sunlight for Draesen. "There he is. Come on! It's dusk, time to move on."

Lucian dragged himself over to them. "I dreamed about mom," he said quietly to Zyphre. "She said she loves me."

Zyphre was caught slightly off guard. "I dreamed about mom too," said Zyphre, just as quietly. "She's waiting for us."

Draesen cleared his throat awkwardly and walked out of the cave. Lucian and Zyphre exchanged a quick glance. Zyphre felt a jolt when he saw Lucian's eyes. Her eyes. He had never really appreciated before how identical his eyes were to Lydia's.

Lucian left the cave. Zyphre mentally shook himself and followed him out. Draesen had offered to let the two of them stay in his tower until they got their bearings and had been leading them there the past couple days. According to him, they were nearly there.

It was close to midnight when they heard the voice that Zyphre wanted to hear the least sounded behind them.

"I told you so."

Zyphre growled and turned around sharply. Selene was leaning casually against a tree, examining her fingernails with a small smirk on her lips. "What do you want?" growled Zyphre.

"She's dead, isn't she?" asked Selene. "The woman."

"Yes," said Zyphre flatly.

"My condolences," sneered Selene. "Would you like to join her, son? Would you like to end your pathetic existence to be with a _mortal_ skank?"

Zyphre's face flickered for a split second before he repeated harshly, "What do you want?"

Selene laughed nastily. "That's all the answer I need, Zyphre," she said. "Well, what's stopping you? What's to stop you from slitting your own throat right here? Oh, I know. That brat behind you. You can't follow your dreams anymore…because you have a child. I told you when he was a toddler, Zyphre. One day, that woman was going to die and you'll wish you weren't burdened with a child anymore. Well? I was right, wasn't I?"

"Is that all you came for?" asked Draesen. "To boost your own ego and kick a man while he's down?"

"Be quiet, Draesy, I'm talking to my son," said Selene. "How did it feel, Zyphre? To watch her wither away? Terrible, I'd expect. Watching your father wither away as I drained him of all his blood was terrible too, but I got over it, and so will you with this woman. So what? She gave you good sex? A prostitute could give you the same thing. And a prostitute wouldn't tether you down with a child. Uhhn!"

Selene's back slammed against the tree, Zyphre's fingers tangled in her hair, yanking her head back, Burning Madness pressed to her throat. She was face to face with Zyphre's livid snarl, a vicious growl coming from low in his throat.

"I'm going to kill you this time," he spat, his voice low and toneless, barely more than a whisper. "How dare you? How dare you imply that I don't want my son? How dare you imply that Lydia was nothing but a common whore like you? You filthy woman. You're not worthy of life."

"What will you do, Zyphre?" she asked. "Will you use the powers of a Lord that you neglect to have me executed?"

"Yes," said Zyphre. "A private execution. Right here. Right now. You'll never disrespect Lydia again. Die."

He sliced Burning Madness across her throat, barely scratching the skin, a small line of blood appearing. He stepped back, letting her fall, and sheathed his sword calmly, a look of sick satisfaction on his face. Lucian walked up to him with a confused look on his face.

"Dad…?" he asked, tugging on Zyphre's coat.

"Wait for it," he spat, not taking his eyes off Selene.

There were a few more seconds of ringing silence, and then a high, blood-curdling shriek of pure agony rose out of Selene's throat. She clutched at the roots of her hair, her eyes rolling back before they were squeezed shut. She screamed again. Lucian flinched and clung to his father.

"_SHUT UP, SHUT UP! IT'S NOT TRUE! SHUT UP!_" she wailed, shaking her head. She screamed again, louder, sending several owls from their perches in fear.

Zyphre watched her scream in pure agony with a sadistic expression on his face for several minutes, grinning every time she screamed at the voices in her head, pointing out all her flaws. After almost ten minutes, he turned sharply away and walked off.

"I'm bored with her," he called over his shoulder. "Let's go."

"Dad?" said Lucian desperately, running up to him. "What…?"

"This is your inheritance," said Zyphre flatly. "We're leaving now. Say goodbye to grandma."

Lucian stopped and looked fearfully over his shoulder, Draesen passing him. He looked back and ran after the two older men. Selene's screams of pain as her body shut down to escape it sounded on behind them.

The worst sound Lucian heard that night, however, was his father's laugh when the screaming finally stopped.


	14. Mia

"Well, this is it," said Zyphre almost a year later.

"Really, dad? Here? It seems a bit…what's the word I'm looking for? Decrepit."

"Course it's decrepit. No one's lived here in over ten thousand years, since before I met your mother. This is the manor of the vampire lords. The village below doesn't know that, but they probably haven't destroyed it yet because they've always known that it belongs to _some_ royal line."

"Why didn't we live here before? Why were we in Lydel with Aunt Strianna? If you had this house all along…"

"Simply put? I hate palace life. Hate it. Hate it, hate it, hate it. It doesn't even matter that there are no servants or anything here, the size of this place makes me feel suffocated."

"Then why are we here? Why couldn't we have stayed with Uncle Draesen?"

"We've intruded on him long enough."

"But –"

"Look," said Zyphre, turning to his son. "Draesen said that we could stay with him until we got a hold of ourselves. It's been almost a year since she died. It's time for us to move on. It's what your mother…would have wanted."

"By 'move on' –"

"You're not getting a step-mom. Ever."

"I know, dad."

* * *

><p>Lucian was strolling through the small town down the path of the manor with his hands in his pockets. It hadn't changed much in the two thousand years he and his father had lived in the manor. The thing that had changed the most was him.<p>

His father had picked the title of lordship back up and ran the vampire community from the manor. Word of Lucian had eventually leaked and most of the vampire community knew that their lord had a grown heir ready in case he died, but no one but Draesen knew who his mother had been, only that she was dead and neither father nor son spoke of her much. Zyphre was still rather depressed and lonely, Lydia frequently visiting him in his dreams, so close to him, yet untouchable.

Lucian was fully grown now. He had stopped aging a few hundred years ago, locking him with the body of a twenty year old. A bit more outgoing than his father, he spent much of his time prowling his favorite haunts, mostly sticking to the shadows. Over the centuries he had become more of an assassin than a fighter like his father.

It was nearly nightfall, and Lucian was on his way home. The streets were near deserted, and he knew the way so well that he didn't even have to look. He stared at the ground, unseeing, thinking. His thoughts were interrupted by him rounding a corner and smacking right into someone, sending both of them to the ground.

"I'm so sorry, that was my fault," said Lucian, scrambling to his feet and holding out his hand to help the other person up. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

The other person was a young human woman of about eighteen years old. She had shiny black hair falling to her mid back and wide, dark blue eyes. She was dressed in a simple peasant dress. She was very pretty. She blushed and took his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

"Thank you," she said in a soft voice. "I'm sorry; it was just as much my fault…"

"No, don't worry about it," said Lucian, bending down to gather up the bag of groceries she had been carrying and handing the bag back to her. "So what's a beautiful lady like you doing out here so late?"

"Oh, I was just on my way home," she said apologetically.

"It's nearly dark," said Lucian. "Would you like me to walk you home?"

"Oh," she said, blushing deeper. "Um, sure, okay. I don't think I've seen you around here before. Do you live nearby?" she asked, walking alongside him.

"I guess," he said. "My name is Lucian. I live in the manor a couple miles down the road with my father."

The woman stopped dead in her tracks, nearly dropping the bag again. "Y-You're the young lord of the manor?" she stammered, eyes wide. She hastily bowed low.

Lucian blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, get up," he said. "You really don't have to do that. Dad and I don't care for formality."

"I-I'm sorry, my lord," she stammered, straightening up.

"Please, call me Lucian," he said, embarrassed. "Just Lucian will be fine."

"O-Okay, Lucian…" She blushed and looked down at her feet.

"Might I know your name, miss?" asked Lucian with a smile.

"M-Mia," she stammered. "My name's Mia…"

"Mia," Lucian repeated. "A beautiful name for a beautiful young woman."

Mia blushed furiously. Lucian smirked slightly. She was rather cute when she was flustered.

"I…I thank you for walking me home," she said nervously. "I'm afraid to stay out at night these days."

"Oh? And why is that?" asked Lucian.

"There has been a plague of vampire attacks lately," she said with a shudder. "Surely you've heard about them, you're the young lord. People disappear once or twice a week and we find their bodies disposed of later, drained of all their blood. Most of the time, though, we never find their body. And other times we find people with bite marks on their necks, but they don't even remember being attacked! It's not safe to be out at night anymore."

"But can't your husband protect you from the vampire menace?" asked Lucian.

Mia looked up at him. "No, I'm not married or betrothed to anyone," she said.

"I can't imagine why," said Lucian. "You're very beautiful and kind."

Mia blushed. "Don't lie, Lucian…"

"I'm not lying," he said. "You're a very attractive young woman."

"Thank you," said Mia, smiling. "You're very handsome as well. This is my house."

"Okay," said Lucian. "Stay safe, now."

"Would you like to come in?" asked Mia. "I could make tea or something…"

Lucian shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but if I don't get back soon, my dad will come looking for me," he said. "Gets a bit annoying at times, haha."

"Oh, that's too bad, I would have liked to talk with you a little longer," said Mia, looking legitimately put out. "Will I see you again?"

"How about we get to know each other sometime tomorrow?" suggested Lucian. "Midday by the lake, maybe?"

Mia blushed and giggled. "Sure, that sounds great," she said. "See you then, Lucian."

"Good night, Mia," said Lucian. "And if I see any vampires on the way home, I'll be sure to tell them to stay away from you." He winked at her.

She giggled again, starting to shut the door. "Good night, Lucian," she said, shutting the door.

Lucian walked off towards the manor, jamming his hands in his pockets again, smiling with a faint blush on his cheeks. When he was out of sight of Mia's house, he transformed and flew off towards the manor.

* * *

><p>"You're late," said Zyphre as Lucian closed the front door behind him. "You know I –"<p>

"Don't like me out after nightfall unless I have to feed," finished Lucian, having heard it many times before. "Dad, I'm twenty-three-hundred years old. I don't need a fucking curfew."

"And the fact that you're a target to everyone who either wants to be the next vampire lord or just wants our race wiped out just goes right over your head, does it?" asked Zyphre, standing up. "And speaking of feeding, I've been meaning to talk to you about that."

"Gods fucking damn it all, here it comes," muttered Lucian under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Alright, what've you got? Let's get this over with."

"I've been disposing of a lot of bodies recently," said Zyphre. "You're killing your victims and leaving them lying around. Your ability to hide your dirty work is pathetic. What's worse is that I'm finding them in the village not a league from here. You're attacking too close to home. Do you want us to be found? Control your bloodlust, for fucks sake!"

"Okay. Great. Are we done?" asked Lucian. "I'm in a really great mood right now and I really don't want it ruined by you lecturing me."

"Why, you impudent little –"

"Who are you to lecture me?" demanded Lucian. "I've _seen_ you feed in the village too!"

"I only feed there when I'm starving; you feed there exclusively," said Zyphre. "At least when I feed there, feed _anywhere_, I knock them out and never take enough to kill them! They don't even know they've been attacked! What would your mother say if she could see you?"

"My mother is dead," said Lucian flatly. "I don't care what a pile of dust has to say. And even if she were still alive, nothing would have changed, 'cept maybe I would be a bit more discreet about it."

"Just stop killing your prey," Zyphre growled. "I don't care if you're my son, I can have you put away if I want to."

"No, you can't actually," said Lucian. "I'm going to be the lord one day; it's my job to know the laws. Not once is it said anywhere about it being illegal to kill your prey. That's _you_ that's got the humane morals, gods only know why. What I'm doing is completely legal and you have nothing on me. Look it up, dad."

"You're still my child," said Zyphre harshly. "You live in my house, under my rules."

Lucian laughed. "Actually, I live in _my_ private wing, living _my_ life," he said. "We're vampires, dad. We're monsters."

"We don't have to act like it," said Zyphre. "You're better than that. You're your mother's son, too. She wasn't a 'monster.'"

"Don't remind me," said Lucian, annoyed as he always was that Zyphre would point out what he considered inferiority. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. I met a girl today and we're seeing each other tomorrow afternoon."

"A girl? You?" asked Zyphre, caught off guard. "What did you do to trick the poor girl into thinking you're a decent person?"

"Turned on the suave, dad. All of the suave," said Lucian, smirking as he walked off.

* * *

><p>Lucian sighed when he awoke in a dark, bitterly cold place. He straightened up, waiting for the soft, warm glow in the distance to get to him.<p>

"Hey, mom," he said when Lydia was close enough. Unlike his father, he had fully accepted that he would never touch her again and had stopped trying. In fact, Lydia visiting his dreams usually meant that he had done something wrong. "How did I fuck up this time?"

"Lucian," said Lydia, stopping just short of him. She looked troubled. "Lucian, you should heed what your father says."

"Oh, gods, not you too," said Lucian in exasperation. "Look, I told dad, there's nothing wrong with –"

Lydia cut him off by holding her hand up and shaking her head sadly. "My son, you're going down a dangerous path. You are not a bad person, but if you keep showing so little regard for mortals you will join me sooner than you think."

"Mom, don't worry about me," said Lucian. "I'll be completely fine. Dad's just trying to interfere and scare me into submission."

Lydia shook her head. "Your father is worried about you. And rightly so. This girl you met today…she will play a large part in you joining me. Mia Appletree will cause you nothing but pain in the end."

"No," said Lucian flatly. "That's insane. I'm finished talking with you, mother. Don't bother me about her again."

Lydia gave him a very sad look, and disappeared.


	15. Elope

Lucian spotted Mia sitting alone on the bank of the lake at midday. He smiled and approached her, sitting down next to her.

"Yo," he said, smiling.

"Hi," she said. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't come."

"Yeah, me too," said Lucian. "I got into a fight with my dad last night, and he decided to continue it this morning."

"That's too bad," said Mia. "What about?"

"Nothing important," said Lucian, shaking his head. "He's just really protective, you know."

"Mm," said Mia. "My step-father never showed much interest in my youngest sister and me."

"You have sisters?" asked Lucian.

"Yes, two younger ones," she said. "Ina and Annalise. I haven't seen them for awhile."

"Must be nice," he said. "I'm an only child. I wanted a brother or sister, but either they didn't try or mom was never able to get pregnant again. Ah, well, I guess it doesn't matter."

"I guess not," she said. She was silent for a short while, and Lucian noticed that her eyes kept darting to his ears. Eventually she blurted out, "I really hate to ask something like this, but what are you? An elf or a half-elf? I can't tell…"

Lucian laughed. "Both, I guess," he said, smiling. "Dad's a half-elf and mom was an elf. So I don't know what that makes me. Three parts elf, I guess."

"You haven't really mentioned your mother," said Mia. "You didn't mention her at all last night."

"Well, she's not in the picture," said Lucian. "She died of a cough while I was still a child."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," said Mia.

"Don't worry about it," said Lucian. "I'm over it, it's dad who's still all hung up about it. What about you?"

"My mother was murdered by a vampire when I was small," said Mia. "That's why all these vampire attacks have me so uneasy. I don't want to end up like her…I live alone, and I always feel so vulnerable about it."

"Don't worry, Mia," said Lucian. "My father and I actually deal with vampires on a regular basis. I'll be sure to warn them away from you. They won't go anywhere near you when I'm done with them."

Mia giggled and blushed faintly. "Thank you, Lucian," she said, smiling.

* * *

><p>Lucian and Mia spent much of their time together over the next few months. They learned much about each other in their time together. Lucian learned that Mia had an estranged relationship with her step-father and middle sister, but was close to her youngest one. Her biological father she was very close to, but he was a little off-putting by being a tad psychotic. He also learned that since her mother's murder, she had a very deep fear of vampires and anything vampire related; she nearly had a panic attack when they saw a bat one night. Her father, step-father, and middle sister were all vampire slayers for a living. Needless to say, this made Lucian feel a little awkward.<p>

Lucian was a little harder for Mia to understand. As he made a conscious effort to keep anything vampiric out of their conversations, there was a limit to the stories he could tell. She did learn a lot about his father and how far down their relationship had fallen after his mother's death. Terrified of being alone again, Zyphre tried his hardest to keep Lucian safe from harm, which put severe limits on what he could do without an argument.

But Mia made him reckless. He realized a few months into their relationship that he loved her, and when he told her, they shared their first kiss. She was his first love, and he would do anything to see her smile. He stayed out late with her, stayed entire nights at her house, even got into a few fights to keep her safe. Zyphre did not approve of any of this, which put further strain on his relationship with his son.

"I don't want you to see her anymore," said Zyphre. He was leaning against the doorframe, watching Lucian clean and bandage a deep wound in his chest.

"They were gonna rob her, dad, it's not my fault I didn't know they had a knife," said Lucian calmly. "This wound will be gone by morning, it's no big deal."

"That isn't the point," said Zyphre. "She's trouble, I can tell. I don't want you to see her anymore."

"I love her, and you saying this makes her forbidden territory," said Lucian. "You loved mom, and she was forbidden territory too. You can see where I'm going with this. It's heading towards a 'fuck you, I do what I want.'"

"Don't talk to your father like that," said Zyphre. "You will do what I tell you, or so help me, Lucian, I will –"

"You'll what?" asked Lucian in amusement. "Send me to my room? Take away my toys? I'm a grown man, dad. You can't fucking tell me what to do anymore!"

"I'll 'fucking' tell you to do what I see fit," said Zyphre. "She's causing you nothing but trouble! Let the girl go before you fuck something up like usual!"

Lucian stood up. "No," he said. "No, dad, I won't. Just because you're not happy doesn't mean you can force it on me too. You're stuck clinging to the dreams mom sends you for your happiness. I found a living, breathing person that makes me happy. I'm not the one who's fucked something up this time. Deal with it, _father_."

Zyphre looked as if he had been punch in the face for a fraction of a second before narrowing his eyes in a glare. "You've changed, Lucian," he growled.

"No," hissed Lucian. "I've just stopped trying to please you."

"Get out of my sight!" hissed Zyphre. "I'm sick of your attitude. Get out!"

"Done!" shouted Lucian, strolling passed his father. He stopped slightly passed him without turning around. "She's amazing, dad. She's amazing and you won't keep me from her." With that, he kept walking.

"Damn it," growled Zyphre when he heard the front door slam. "Stupid kid. Lydia…help me now. I don't know what to do with him… You were always better with this sort of thing…"

* * *

><p>Lucian knocked on Mia's door much later, after running a small errand that was currently tucked safely in his pocket. Mia opened the door a few seconds later. Her eyes were red and it looked like she had been crying.<p>

"Hi, Lucian," she said in a watery voice.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, hugging her. "What's with that look?"

"N…nothing," she said, wiping her eyes.

"Don't give me that," said Lucian. "You can tell me."

"O…okay, you're right," said Mia. "Come in."

She shut the door behind them and led him to the couch, sitting him down. She wrung her hands together nervously, looking at her lap. Eventually she managed to say, "My father showed up earlier today…to check how I was doing…and he found out about you."

"And?" said Lucian. "What's wrong with that?"

"He…doesn't approve," said Mia quietly, tears welling up again.

"What a coincidence," said Lucian with a smile. "My father doesn't approve either."

"My father will kill you, just because he doesn't approve," said Mia desperately. "That's just the way he is!"

"I guess I'll have to reword my question a little bit then," said Lucian. He slid off the couch and down on one knee, fishing the small box out of his pocket. "Mia Leila Appletree, will you elope with me?" He opened the box to reveal a silver band with a large sapphire set into it.

Mia looked thoroughly shocked. She covered her mouth with both hands, eyes darting from the ring to Lucian's eyes. "L…Lucian…I…what?"

"Will you marry me?" asked Lucian. "I love you, and I want to spend my life with you. I've been thinking about this for awhile now. Who cares if our fathers approve? We don't have to tell them. We can just leave."

"I…Lucian…" She looked into his eyes, her own filling with tears again. "Yes," she said. "I'll elope with you." She reached out and took the ring, sliding it onto her finger. She admired it with a stunned look on her face for a few seconds before grabbing Lucian and kissing him forcefully. "I love you too," she said when they broke apart.

"Mia…" Lucian kissed her passionately, pushing her back on the couch. Mia wrapped her arms around him, tangling her fingers in his hair. She moved her knee up and brushed over his crotch lightly a few times. "Mmm…" He moved a hand down and touched one of her breasts.

"Wait," said Mia, breaking the kiss and pushing him off her slightly.

Lucian withdrew and sat up. "Not ready?" he asked. They hadn't had sex yet, as per Mia's request. If she still wasn't ready, he'd respect her decision.

"No, it's just…" Mia sat up and grabbed Lucian's wrist. "It's just that my bed might be a bit more comfortable."

Lucian raised his eyebrows as she gripped his wrist and dragged him to her bedroom. He kissed her passionately, pushing her back onto the bed. She slid his jacket off his shoulders, running her hands down his back and grabbing the hem of his shirt, pulling it up. They broke the kiss to pull it over his head.

Mia ran her fingers down his chest. Lucian took her breast and gently massaged it. Mia moaned and tipped her head beck. Lucian pulled her dress over her head, leaving her in only her panties. His arousal twitched at the sight of her bare breasts and slim body. He took her breast gently, taking her nipple between his thumb and index finger and pinching lightly.

"Haaah," breathed Mia. "Lucian…HAAAH! Lucian! Uhng!" she cried as her other nipple was encased in warmth.

She clutched the back of Lucian's head as he lightly sucked on her nipple, flicking his tongue over it. Mia let out a breathy moan. He bit lightly on her erect nipple and tugged on it, circling the other one with his finger. He kissed down her belly, stopping when he got to her panties. He took them and slid them down and off, his arousal twitching. Mia blushed and closed her legs.

"Don't stare," she said. "It's embarrassing."

"Don't be embarrassed," said Lucian. "You're beautiful." He spread her legs gently and lowered his head, licking softly.

"Ahhh! Lucian! Don't! It's dirty there…!" cried Mia, flushing bright red in embarrassment and pleasure.

Lucian ignored her, smirking, and swiped his tongue over her most sensitive spot. She moaned loudly, her legs involuntarily trying to close. Lucian held her legs apart as they tried to jerk together, licking her clitoris softly with the flat of his tongue. Mia moaned and writhed, eyes closed and face flushing, getting wetter by the second. Lucian moved up and kissed her deeply, allowing her to taste herself.

"Are you ready?" he asked softly.

"Yes," breathed Mia, running a hand through his hair, her eyes clouded in desire. She sat up and undid his belt, pulling his pants down and off. Her face turned an even deeper shade of red when she saw his erect member. "I-it's big…"

"I'll understand if you're not ready," said Lucian gently.

"N-no," said Mia. "I love you, and I want to show it."

"Okay," said Lucian. He pushed her onto her back and kissed her softly, positioning himself at her virgin opening. "This is going to hurt at first," he warned. "But I promise it will feel good soon."

Mia nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Okay," she whispered. "I trust you."

Lucian kissed her, pushing his tongue passed her lips, twining his tongue with hers. He took her breast and kneaded it to distract her as he slid slowly into her. Mia gave a loud, high cry of pain, tipping her head back and gritting her teeth, tears falling from her tightly closed eyes. A sharp, metallic scent that Lucian knew very well hit his nose and he looked down to see that she was bleeding as her hymen was torn open. He kissed down her exposed neck and chest, moving back up to kiss her tears away as he felt her slowly relax.

"Okay," she finally whimpered. "You can move…"

Lucian kissed her deeply as he slid out and pushed back in, thrusting slowly. Soon, Mia's whimpers of pain gave way to breathy moans of pleasure. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he sped up his thrusts, her passage tightening around him.

"Uhng…you're so tight, Mia," breathed Lucian.

Mia blushed deeper. "Don't…say things…like that…mmhh…"

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed," murmured Lucian, kissing her passionately again, thrusting harder. Mia moaned into his mouth.

After a time, Mia's moans turned into near screams, Lucian thrusting faster, his body stimulating her clitoris. It was Mia who first moaned, "Haah…Lucian…I'm – AHH! – I'm gonna…cum! MMH!"

"Me too," panted Lucian. "Miaaa…!"

He thrust deeply, his member throbbing inside her as he shot his seed deep inside. Mia screamed his name as she reached her climax, back arching and passage contracting around him. Mia relaxed completely when she was done, hugging Lucian tightly. Lucian pulled out and rolled off her, holding her against his body.

"I love you," Mia whispered.

"I love you too," replied Lucian.

"Go home tomorrow," she said, closing her eyes. "See your father one last time. We'll leave tomorrow at midnight. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect to me," said Lucian, burying his face in her hair and inhaling deeply. She had such a sweet scent…

* * *

><p>It was a few hours after dawn when Lucian walked back in the front door, slamming it behind him and raising his arm victoriously.<p>

"Guess who got laid!" he said triumphantly.

"Welcome home," said Zyphre flatly. "How old are you? Twenty three hundred? It took you _that_ long to lose it?"

Lucian's triumphant expression slid off his face. He glared at Zyphre in annoyance. "Alright, fuck you, then," he said, slinking out of the front room to his chamber.

* * *

><p>AN: That scene at the end was based off the scene in Scott Pilgrim vs the World when Wallace enters the house and goes "Guess who's drunk!" That's my favorite line in the movie, and Lucian says it exactly like that.


	16. Rejection

Night had fallen. Lucian watched the sun set as he prepared to leave. He knew he had made the right choice. He was going to spend his life with Mia, the woman he loved. Even so, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret and fear. The fear was for how he was going to keep that he was half-vampire from her for the rest of her life. The regret was for the father he was abandoning to be all alone for the first time since he had met Lydia.

Shouldering his bag, he exited to the front room, where Zyphre was sitting and looking over a small uprising that he would have to take care of later. Lucian cleared his throat and Zyphre looked up at him.

"What's with the bag?" asked Zyphre.

"I'm going out for the night," said Lucian. "I haven't fed in several days and then I'm staying with Mia for the night."

Zyphre shrugged and turned back to his work with an air of one who really did not want to be working. "Okay," he said. "Have fun."

"…Bye, dad."

Zyphre glanced up at his son. "Bye," he said, a little surprised.

Lucian nodded to his father and walked out the front door, closing it softly behind him. He walked away from the manor, looking back at it over his shoulder. He mentally shook himself and walked on.

* * *

><p>He sat next to the lake where he and Mia had had their first date and first kiss, as per their agreement. The moon was rising in the sky, but it was nowhere close to midnight and Mia would not be along for a few hours. Lucian's head fell as he began to nod off, stomach growling. He cursed. He hadn't fed in several days and he was growing exhausted because of it. He looked up at the moon. He still had more than two hours. That was easily enough time for him to grab something to eat quickly.<p>

He transformed into a bat and took off towards the town. He scanned the streets for a short while before spotting his prey: an aging man walking alone, turning around a corner. Lucian dropped down behind him and transformed into his humanoid form.

Lucian crept up behind the man and pinched a nerve in his shoulder. Lucian pushed him up against the wall as he went down, unconscious, and sank his fangs into the man's jugular. Eagerly, he began to feed on the man's blood.

He drained the man's blood, taking far more than was necessary. The man grew whiter and whiter, beginning to shrivel up as all of his blood was drained away. Lucian continued to feed on him even after the man lay dead.

A bloodcurdling shriek made him stop feeding and look up sharply. Who he saw standing there made his blood run cold. The body fell to the ground with a dull thud and he backed away, wiping the blood from his mouth with his sleeve hastily, but the damage had been done.

"M-Mia!" he cried. "I-I can explain, it's not what it looks like, please understand…!"

Mia stared at him in horror and shock, her hands tightly over her mouth and her eyes wide. She was trembling violently from head to foot. "Lu…Lucian…y-you're…"

"Mia, please…" Lucian took a step towards her, but she stumbled backwards away from him, terror etched on her face. "Mia, I'm sorry, I should have told you…"

"You're the one who's been killing those people…" Mia shook her head, taking another step back. "You monster…!"

"No, Mia…Mia, please, hear me out," he started weakly.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say, beast!" snarled Mia.

"Beast…?" said Lucian, hurt. "Mia, it's still me. I'm still the same guy…Mia, please, I know I should have told you, but I never meant to hurt you…"

He approached her and touched her shoulder. She screamed and stumbled away from him.

"_I trusted you_!" she screamed, tears filling her eyes.

"I know!" said Lucian desperately. "I know! Please, Mia, forgive me!"

"You're one of _them_," Mia hissed. "You're nothing but an evil, murderous, despicable creature that would be better off dead."

Lucian looked as if he'd been slapped in the face. He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. He stretched his hand out as if he were going to touch her again, seeking forgiveness. "Mia…"

"Don't come near me!" she shrieked, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Don't touch me, you fiend! I can't believe I trusted you!"

"Mia, you have to forgive me…I was never going to hurt you…I love you…"

Mia slid the engagement ring off her finger and threw it at his feet, backing away. "Stay away from me! Never come near me again!"

"Mia, please! You know I would do anything for you without question! If you told me to stop being half-vampire, then damn it all, I would find a way!" Lucian cried desperately. "You have to believe me…"

"Half?" spat Mia. "So that filthy father of yours is just as bad as you are, or was it that whore of a mother?"

"Mia…" Lucian shook his head slowly, unable to take the situation in.

"Don't!" she screamed. "I never want to see your face again! Get away from me, and never come back, you sick, twisted, monster! I hate you and I hope my father finds you like he said and _murders _you!"

She turned and ran as fast as she could away from him. Lucian's arm slowly fell to his side. He wanted to go after her, to make her understand, but he knew she wouldn't hear anything he had to say. She would be too blinded by her fear of vampires.

He bent down and picked up the ring Mia had discarded. He felt the powerful urge to be sick as he looked at it. Squeezing his eyes shut and turning his face away, he slipped the ring into his pocket. He picked his bag back up and trudged slowly back to the mansion. The idea to transform and cut the journey by flying didn't even occur to him.

Draesen must have arrived sometime while he was gone, because he and Zyphre were both in the sitting room, talking with each other. Zyphre looked up when he heard the door close.

"You're back?" he asked. "I thought you were going to be out most of the night. What's with that look?" he asked suddenly, noticing the crushed look still on Lucian's face. Lucian merely shook his head, not trusting himself to open his mouth.

"What's wrong, Lucian?" asked Draesen.

"I don't want to talk about it, uncle Draesen," he said in a faint, hollow voice.

He turned towards his wing and made a beeline for it, almost managing to make it to his bedroom before he started to choke. He wrenched the door open, slamming it shut behind him and dropping his bag. He threw himself face down on the bed, hugging his pillow tightly as he buried his face in it, letting out a sob.

"_You fucking idiot_!" he yelled into his pillow.

There was a soft knock on the door. Knowing it could only be one person, he said loud enough to be heard, "Go away…"

"Sorry, no," came his father's voice. "I'm coming in."

Lucian hurriedly dried his eyes as Zyphre opened the door. "What was the point of knocking if you were just going to come in anyway?" he asked flatly, sitting up.

Zyphre shrugged and leaned against the doorframe. "I know that look," he said. "That's the look your mother always had when her first husband hurt her. Now, what's up?"

Lucian looked away. "Mia," he said in a broken voice. "She hates me."

"She fucked you last night, so what happened?"

Lucian buried his face in his hands. "She caught me feeding," he said, his voice cracking. "The things she called me…she said she wanted me to die."

"Oh," said Zyphre. "Well. That's unfortunate. Don't worry yourself with her anymore. Obviously she wasn't worth it if she did that to you."

Lucian fished the ring out of his pocket and threw it at Zyphre, who caught it effortlessly and examined it, looking slightly surprised. "I was going to marry her, dad," he whimpered. "She had already said yes…"

"Oh…" Zyphre looked rather dumbstruck. "Well. I, uh, I have absolutely nothing to say."

"Just…just leave me alone, dad," said Lucian, throwing himself face down on the bed again. "I don't want to talk to anyone anymore."

"Okay," said Zyphre, nodding. Lucian heard him shut the door and walk away.

* * *

><p>Lucian woke in the dark, bitterly cold place with his mother walking towards him. Lydia didn't say anything this time, but simply crouched down next to him and hugged him. She was incorporeal, and her touch felt like nothing more than a warm breeze. All the same, as his mother held him, Lucian felt like a small child in need of comfort again, and clung to her like a lifeline, not trying to hold back his tears anymore.<p>

* * *

><p>Zyphre awoke in the dream he knew very well by now. He didn't wait for Lydia to come to him; he had stopped doing that a very long time ago. He ran up to meet her, wrapping his arms around her translucent form. He couldn't touch her; he hadn't been able to since that first time, but embracing where she was standing was oddly comforting to him.<p>

"Zyphre," said Lydia. "Lucian has gone down a very dangerous path. He's still on it, even though that woman is gone. You have to help him. Get him off that path."

"He won't accept my help," said Zyphre. "He didn't listen to me when I was trying to help him. What makes you think he'll listen to me now?"

"He has to listen to you," said Lydia, sounding, for the first time Zyphre could remember in these dreams, desperate. "If you don't help him, he will join me in death before a month has passed."

"A month?" said Zyphre, horrified. "He only has a month to live? Because of this girl?"

"Less than that, unless you help him," said Lydia. "I love our son, but I don't want him to meet me again while he's still so young."

"Well, we have to tell him, don't we?" said Zyphre. "We have to tell him that he's going to die unless he shapes up, that'll knock him off the path, won't it?"

"No, you can't!" said Lydia, a horrified expression on her face. "Right now, he's heartbroken, hurting, and above all, confused. He is considering death right now. If you tell him he will die, he will join me sooner. Please, Zyphre. You have to help him."

"What do I have to do?" asked Zyphre. "I can't lose him too. Tell me what I need to do."

Lydia leaned in close and breathed in his ear. "Help him stay a vampire."

With that last, cryptic note, she vanished.


	17. Blood

Zyphre didn't see Lucian for several days. He kept waiting to see if Lucian would show up in the kitchen or sitting room, or even the bathroom, but he never did. Zyphre would prowl Lucian's wing often, but never see him, and his bedroom door was always locked.

After almost a week of not seeing his son, Zyphre got the master key and unlocked Lucian's door, only to see Lucian lying face down on his bed, not moving or speaking, not reacting to his door being opened. There was no light in the room and the only sound was Lucian's breathing. Zyphre couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep. He didn't respond to Zyphre calling him.

"Lucian," Zyphre said loudly from the doorway after two weeks of this behavior.

"What?" asked Lucian flatly, not raising his head. His voice was quiet and hoarse from two weeks of silence. It was the first time he had spoken since Mia had rejected him.

"Get up," said Zyphre, "and come downstairs. I'm not going to let you lock yourself away over one person any longer."

"Nngh," Lucian groaned.

"Come on!" said Zyphre impatiently. "Get up!"

Lucian tried to push himself up off the bed, but his arms trembled violently and gave out. He fell back face down on the bed with a muffled flump and a groan. Zyphre raised his eyebrows in concern at the weakness.

"When was the last time you fed?" he asked suspiciously.

"I don't know," mumbled Lucian. "The night she rejected me?"

Zyphre looked shocked. "That was two weeks ago!" he exclaimed.

"Was it?" asked Lucian flatly, having lost track of the days. "Oh well."

"Lucian," said Zyphre. "You have to feed. You're getting weak, and soon you'll start losing your powers."

Lucian simply shrugged. "That's fine," he said softly. "I don't care. She didn't reject _me_, just my vampire blood…I don't want to be a vampire anymore."

"You can't just _decide_ to not be a vampire anymore!" said Zyphre, taken aback and a little scared.

"I didn't decide to become one either," Lucian pointed out.

"That's true," said Zyphre, "_but_ for your entire life you've been bitching to me about only being half, and now you suddenly don't want to be a vampire at all? Well, guess what, Lucian. You don't get that choice. You will _die_ if you don't feed!"

Lucian shrugged again. "Then I'll die."

Zyphre stared, horrified by the finality in his voice, before narrowing his eyes. "No," he said sternly. "As your father, and as your lord, I _order_ you to feed tonight."

Lucian simply shrugged a third time and didn't respond. "Lucian," growled Zyphre. "I want your word that you'll feed tonight. I don't want to have to be breathing down your neck to make sure you do it."

"I'll feed tonight," said Lucian flatly, crossing his fingers under his pillow. "Now can you leave me alone? And shut the door."

It became apparent in the next two weeks that Lucian had not done as he was asked. He was getting weaker by the day and losing weight. Nothing Zyphre said would make him get up and feed himself; he was determined to not be a vampire anymore and win Mia's approval. Zyphre was beginning to think he would have to force-feed him if he didn't eat soon.

* * *

><p>Zyphre awoke in the realm where he met Lydia. He knew why she wanted to speak with him. Lucian's month was almost up. He ran to meet her as she approached him.<p>

"Lydia…I've been trying," he started. "Lucian won't listen to me."

"He's not listening to me either," said Lydia sadly. "He will join me tomorrow night unless something is done."

"Tomorrow?" cried Zyphre. "No way…can I ask you something, Lydia?"

"Of course," she said.

"Why can you never give me a straight answer?" asked Zyphre. "You always tell me such cryptic things…you tell me he'll join you tomorrow but you won't tell me how."

Lydia shrugged. "I'm a spirit anchored in purgatory," she said simply. "But just because I know the path ahead doesn't mean I can reveal it. That's illegal. And cheating."

"Cheating?" said Zyphre. "This is our son's life we're talking about. Why can't you give me something more useful?"

"I've told you all I'm allowed to tell you without losing my place in purgatory," said Lydia. "I wish I could tell you more, but if I do I'll be sent on to my next life without being allowed to wait for you. I've told you all I can. Interpret it how you will." With that, she vanished and Zyphre awoke.

Zyphre sat up, thinking hard. Lucian was going to die in twenty-four hours unless something was done. He was starving himself to death to win the approval of a girl. That must be how he was going to die; he was going to die of starvation. Lucian needed blood, fast, and Zyphre knew exactly whose blood he was getting.

* * *

><p>Mia awoke to a violent knock on her door. She wandered down the hall, pulling on a robe, her mind still fogged with sleep. She opened the door, leaping back with a shriek as she saw the tall, intimidating vampire on her doorstep. Zyphre moved behind her with untraceable speed, covering her mouth with a clawed hand.<p>

"Hello, Mia," he purred. "Do you know who I am?"

Mia shook her head, her eyes wide with fear.

"My name is Zyphre," he said. "I am the lord of vampires. You would probably know me better as Lucian's father."

Mia's eyes widened in sudden understanding and terror.

"Now, usually, my son getting dumped wouldn't be that concerning," said Zyphre conversationally. "I'd just tell him to stop being a pussy and move on with his life. Unfortunately, it didn't work like that this time. You see, he's still rather hung up over you. You rejected him because he's half-vampire, something that's my fault, really, not his. He's decided to stop being a vampire. He's very close to starving to death because he refuses to feed, trying to win your approval. That pisses me off."

Mia knocked his hands away, stumbling backwards. "So that creature is dying?" she spat. "Good riddance. The less of you there are, the better. The fact that you would even breed and add to your numbers disgusts me."

Zyphre raised an eyebrow. "Wrong answer," he said coldly. "My son needs blood tonight or he will die. He refuses to feed himself, and at this point he's too weak to do it himself. Thus the task has fallen on me to feed him like he is an infant again. You hurt my son. You put him in this state. Who do you think is going to volunteer to donate some blood to keep him alive?"

"Y-you wouldn't dare," stammered Mia, her voice trembling with fear.

Zyphre laughed hollowly. "You have no idea what I wouldn't dare to do," he said with an evil smile. There was a flash of claws. Blood spurted from her throat as she toppled to the ground…

* * *

><p>"Lucian," said Zyphre, entering his room without knocking. "I have blood for you." He held up the flask of blood and shook it so Lucian could hear it sloshing around.<p>

"I don't want it," said Lucian flatly.

"Too bad," said Zyphre. "You're going to drink it, and I'm going to sit here and watch you drink it."

"I don't want it," Lucian repeated. "I've given up, dad. I'm not drinking that blood."

"Yes, you are," said Zyphre, his temper rising. "You will drink the blood, or you will die. You're starving yourself, Lucian."

"Big fucking deal," said Lucian. "I don't want the blood. I'm not going to drink it, and absolutely nothing you can do will make me, _my lord_," he added, putting as much disrespect as he could into those last two words.

Lucian cried out as his back slammed against the wall, Zyphre's hand pressed hard against his clavicle to keep him up. He stared into his father's snarling face.

"You will not use that tone with me," he growled, his voice low and toneless. "I've put up with you blowing me off for years, but now I'm just trying to protect you. I'm not going to stand for it anymore. Now you will drink the blood, or I will force it down your throat."

"If you had the willpower to do something like that then mom would still be alive!" spat Lucian.

Zyphre growled in fury, his hand moving up to Lucian's throat. Lucian gasped for air and clawed at Zyphre's hand, his claws leaving deep gashes. Zyphre growled again and dropped him. Lucian fell to his knees, massaging his throat and glaring at his father. Zyphre held the flask out.

"Drink it," he snarled.

Lucian glared and snatched the flask from his father's hand, unstoppering the cap and taking a sip. As soon as he tasted it he gasped, inhaling it. He dropped the flask, choking and coughing, forcing the blood out of his lungs and onto the floor. He looked up at his father, horrified, blood spilling down his chin.

"Mia," he said in a horrified whisper. "This is Mia's blood. You didn't…tell me she's okay!"

"She hurt you," said Zyphre harshly.

"Oh, gods," said Lucian, mortified, looking on the verge of tears. He shook his head in horrified disbelief. "You killed her…she's dead…you killed her and took her blood…"

Zyphre picked the flask back up. "I did," he admitted. "Don't worry. Her blood is going to a much better use."

Lucian stood and tried to flee the room, but Zyphre grabbed his arm and pushed him up against the wall.

"No!" Lucian cried in despair as his back smacked the wall again.

Zyphre forced the flask past Lucian's lips and tipped it upside down, spilling Mia's blood into his mouth. As soon as the flask was empty, Zyphre threw it to the ground and covered Lucian's mouth and nose with his hand to stop him from spitting it out and stop him from breathing. He massaged Lucian's throat with his other hand to get him to swallow. Zyphre released him as soon as he saw Lucian swallow.

Zyphre turned his back and walked away as Lucian fell to his knees, gasping for air. As he rounded the corner, he heard Lucian's gagging and retching punctuated by sobs.


	18. Finale

Lucian sat back on his heels, looking down at her with a blank expression on his face. He didn't care, or even notice really, that he was kneeling in a pool of blood, the edges of the puddle beginning to dry. Mia lay face down with her head twisted at an awkward angle. Her throat was slit all the way across, so deeply she was inches from having her head cut off. Her dark blue eyes were open, staring at nothing, blank and lifeless. With a shaking hand, Lucian reached out and closed her eyes. He rubbed the tears threatening to spill out of his own, leaning forward and kissing her temple, stroking her hair.

"I'm so sorry, Mia," said Lucian.

He stood up abruptly, blood coating his pants from the knees down. Rage coursed through his veins. It was difficult for him to think clearly. All he knew was that she was gone, taken away from him forever, and revenge was a very appealing option.

He growled low in his throat like an animal, flexing his fingers, claws glinting in the half-light. He had killed dozens of these villagers. What was a few more? All he knew was that he wanted to cause as much destruction as he could to quell the rage compelling him to hurt, to main, to kill.

* * *

><p>It only took a few hours. He found that once he gave in to the anger, it was very hard to stop. The blood of every man, woman, and child in the village coated his hands, covered head to foot in blood. He stood in the center of the village, examining the gore under his claws. The village was silent, but to him, it was a satisfying kind of silent. And to think of all the screaming just an hour or two ago.<p>

Lucian tensed, his lips curling into a snarl, as a male voice sounded behind him.

"So you just left the door open? Heh. It's like you're just begging me to kill you. What a waste of a vampire. And to think your father was the lord of vampires. You? A pointy-eared twig? Who moans and cries over some girl rejecting your pathetic meat-sack of an existence? I can't blame the girl. This is what you turn into."

Lucian swung around, snarling. A human stood across the square, eyeing him with contempt. His hair was dark brown with a white streak through it. His eyes were off; the irises were pink and the whites were yellow with a rather insane gleam in them. His skin had a sickly pallor to it.

"What this?" hissed Lucian. "Someone I missed?"

"Someone that's here to clean up the mess. Mainly you." The man's voice grew deeper and colder as he spoke. "Would you like to die quietly? Or would you care for me to tear your arm off and beat you to death with it as I simultaneously pull your ribs out of you one at a time?"

Lucian dropped into a fighting stance, flexing his claws, his knuckles cracking. He laughed. "Heheh. You talk big, but can you back it up?" he asked. "You seem to know who I am. Who're you?"

The man walked toward Lucian, his eyes narrowing. He looked repulsed from the blood and gore coating Lucian's body. "Gods. You're cockier than your father. Just...shut up and die, you pathetic little shit."

Lucian took a step back as the man approached him. "Well, do I get a name at least if you're so sure you're going to win this fight?" he spat.

"Vance Appletree. Nice to meet you, Lucian Liadon." Vance smirked.

The surname struck Lucian like a blow to the face. He could only gape as he realized that this man was Mia's father. Everything she had ever told him about Vance flooded his mind, and he realized just how deep he was in. "Shit."

"I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into, Lucian," Vance said with a snarl in his voice. "I wonder how long you'll last before your screams of pain stop."

Vance unsheathed a sword that was hidden beneath his trenchcoat. "Ameterasu," he said. "This is the name of the sword you will die by."

The sword was black with rigid spikes going down the blade. "Anything that gets cut by this instantly gets burned by its black fire. The worst pain you can ever possibly feel. The dark depressing pain eating at your bones. It's almost to fun to watch people like you suffer by this blade." Vance had a devilish grin on his face, enjoying the look in Lucian's eyes.

Lucian shook his head and some of the fear left his eyes. "Come at me, then," he snarled. "Your precious daughter is dead. It's my fault. Everyone in this village is dead at my hand. Shall I mention to you that it was me who deflowered your daughter? A filthy vampire like myself. She was so tight. And she loved it." The one tiny part of his brain not consumed by rage was screaming at him to shut up and run.

Vance closed his eyes and sighed. "Pathetic," he muttered.

Faster than Lucian could react, Vance drove the jagged blade into his shoulder, and wrenched it back towards him like a saw. Lucian screamed as black flames licked up from the wound. Vance struck his other shoulder in the same fashion, slicing open Lucian's gut and ribs. Black flames rose up from the blade and seared each wound with unendurable agony. Lucian screamed, in too much pain to even think to fight back.

Vance was overpowering Lucian effortlessly. After a time it was more like he was just toying with Lucian to watch him scream. After what seemed like an eternity, gashes covered his face, thighs, legs, and arms. Lucian finally fell to the ground, bleeding heavily. Thick splatters of blood and black embers fell from his body. His green eyes were faded, his body lying motionless, blood pooling around him.

Vance stood proudly over his body. He wiped the blood on his sword off on Lucian's back and sheathed it. "What a sad child," Vance commented, putting his foot on Lucian's face. "What a fitting place for you now. The ground. A place for everyone to walk on you." With that, Vance proceeded to walk off, humming to himself, making sure to step painfully on Lucian's face before he left.

* * *

><p>Lydia slapped Zyphre hard across the face. She was still incorporeal, but Zyphre felt it all the same. He touched the spot on his cheek her hand had gone through.<p>

"Hey! What was that for?" he demanded, rather confused by the greeting.

"You idiot!" she yelled. "What made you think that killing that girl was going to fix anything! You complete moron! How can your skull be that thick!"

"I take it you're a little upset that I killed Mia and force-fed Lucian her blood," said Zyphre, flinching.

"I'm more than a little upset!" shouted Lydia. "I told you Lucian was going to die so that you could fix it, not make it worse! His life's been shortened! He's joining me right now!"

"What!" demanded Zyphre, horrorstruck.

"He's out in the village, right now, dying," cried Lydia desperately. "I'm ending this dream. Go find him! _Go_!"

* * *

><p>"Lucian!" Zyphre yelled. "Lucian, if you can hear me, answer me!"<p>

Zyphre soared over the village, the overwhelming scent of blood flooding his sensitive bat nose. He scanned the ground below, searching for any sign of his son, his ears pricked for the slightest sound. As he flew over the town square he saw a shock of white against the ground. With a thrill of fear, the strong scent of Lucian's blood hit his nose. He dove, transforming and dropping to the ground. He ran up to his son and dropped to his knees next to him.

Lucian was in bad shape. His white hair was plastered down with fresh blood and his clothes were torn and sticking to his body, dark stains completely covering them. Zyphre could smell the blood of the villagers on him, but his own blood scent stood out strongest. Open, bleeding wounds covered almost every inch of his body, his flesh a mass of blood, bone visible through some of the deeper wounds. His eyes were open. The light had almost faded from them.

"Lucian!" cried Zyphre. "Lucian, please, if you can hear me…say something! Anything! Just please don't be dead…"

Lucian stirred very slightly. He blinked and his dull eyes turned to his father, sliding in and out of focus. "Dad…" His voice was faint and pained.

"Thank the gods," said Zyphre. "You're gonna be okay, son. We'll get you home, get you fixed up…you'll be completely healed in three days, tops."

Lucian laughed faintly. "I'm not getting up, dad," he said quietly.

"Don't say that," said Zyphre. "You're gonna be just fine. I promise."

"I'm sorry, dad," Lucian whispered, pain eating at his voice. "For everything…I'm really…really sorry…"

"I know you are," said Zyphre. "Don't talk. Save your breath while I get you home."

"Don't," said Lucian softly. "I'm done. It's so cold, dad. Cold and dark."

"Don't talk anymore," said Zyphre.

"Dad…I'm glad you're here," he breathed. "Thank you…for not giving up on me…dad…sorry…"

"I forgive you," said Zyphre softly.

Lucian nodded and gave a small smile. He let out a long sigh, the light fading from his eyes. Zyphre bowed his head and reached out, closing his son's bright green eyes, his last reminder of the woman he loved, forever.

* * *

><p>Zyphre took Lucian back to the town he had been born in the next morning. It had taken a fair amount of intimidation and gold to get it to happen so quickly, but as the sun set, a new tombstone was seen in the graveyard, the soil freshly dug. Right next to the weathered, faded stone bearing Lydia's name, a new one had been erected, <em>Lucian Adonis Liadon<em> engraved upon it. Fresh flowers had been placed on both of the graves.

* * *

><p>Draesen was working alone in his tower when he heard a soft knock on the doorframe. He turned to look over his shoulder, his eyebrows rising in surprise as he saw Zyphre leaning against the doorframe.<p>

"My lord," he said, inclining his head. "To what do I owe this unexpected visit?"

"Congratulations," Zyphre said in a hollow voice, his eyes dull. "You've just been promoted."

"What?" asked Draesen. "What do you mean, promoted? I'm already your right hand, aren't I?"

"You're the next lord," said Zyphre. "Lucian passed away last night. He's been buried next to his mother."

"Oh, gods," said Draesen, standing up. "I'm so sorry. May I ask what happened?"

"Collateral damage," answered Zyphre shortly. "He got into a fight."

"I'm sorry," Draesen said again.

Zyphre shook his head. "After tonight, you're not going to see me again. You're the new lord. The manor is yours, everything in it, all the money, etcetera, etcetera…"

"My lord…Zyphre…are-are you sure?" asked Draesen.

"Very," said Zyphre, turning to leave. "Goodbye, Draesen. I'm glad to have known you all these years. Good luck." Before Draesen could say another word, Zyphre had departed.

* * *

><p>Zyphre stood before the castle doors. His nerves were beginning to build, but he forced them down, reminding himself that nothing could happen in there that he didn't want. Cracking his knuckles, he threw the double doors open and strode down the hall with his head held high as if he had never left. The only thing betraying his abnormally long absence was the looks he was ignoring from the servants, surprised to see him.<p>

"Nerull!" he said loudly to god on the throne. He spread his arms. "I'm home. Miss me?"

"Zyphre," Nerull said contemptuously. "Would you care to tell me why my wife, who, I might add, is supposed to be under your protection when outside these walls, died over two thousand years ago?"

"Haha, about that," said Zyphre. "You see, what happened was…she left you. For roughly fifteen hundred years we had been fucking behind your back, and I knocked her up. So she left you, married me, and had my son, unfortunately dying of a cough around four hundred years later. And my son passed away last night, so here I am, and that's my story."

"You had better be lying to me, Zyphre," hissed Nerull.

"Nope," said Zyphre. "And let me tell you how _great_ Lydia was in bed. You never found that out, what with the whole ignoring her existence when you weren't abusing her thing."

Before Zyphre could blink, Nerull had stood up and moved behind him, the curved blade of his sickle pressed against Zyphre's throat.

"Do it," said Zyphre in a hushed voice. "Go ahead. Kill me. It's as easy as breathing for you."

"Why?" breathed Nerull. "It would make you happy to die, wouldn't it, Zyphre? That's the only reason you came back, isn't it? To have me kill you."

"So what if it is?" asked Zyphre.

"I have no desire to give you what you want," said Nerull, withdrawing his sickle slightly.

"Well, you're just a coward, then, aren't you?" asked Zyphre as Nerull climbed the steps back to his throne.

"What did you call me, wretch?" demanded Nerull.

"Coward!" shouted Zyphre. "You're nothing but a lowly, spineless, slimy, pathetic coward. You've wanted to kill me for millennia, so why can't you do it now! Ghhg!"

Zyphre doubled up in pain as Nerull's sickle was plunged through his solar plexus. Baring his fangs, he gripped the hilt of the sickle and wrenched it upwards, towards his heart. He coughed, blood spilling down his chin.

"Do it," he hissed. "Let me follow them into the void."

He was bleeding heavily, Nerull's sickle preventing him from healing. Zyphre wrenched the blade out of his body and threw himself down on it, the blade going clean through his heart. Zyphre let out a choked noise that ended in a laugh, before everything faded to black.

* * *

><p>When he came to, he was in the same dark place he had come to associate with Lydia's dreams, but for the first time, it was pleasantly warm instead of bitterly cold. Lydia stood in front of him, smiling sadly at him.<p>

"Lucian's moved on to wait for his next life," she said. "He's going to be reborn as our son again."

"So this means…?" asked Zyphre. He reached out a hand and lightly touched Lydia's face. It felt solid and warm to him. She smiled and put her hand on top of his. Zyphre embraced her tighter than he ever had, kissing her deeply, trying to make up for over two thousand years of nothing in a single kiss.

"I'm dead," he said happily, burying his face in her hair. "I can touch you again. Oh, gods, I'm so happy."

"Yeah," said Lydia. "Now we can move on to our next lives together."

"But…won't that mean I'll be separated from you again?" asked Zyphre desperately.

Lydia nodded. "We'll find each other again," she said. "Trust me. I promise we'll find each other."

"I…I trust you. Okay," he said. The last thing he remembered was her bright emerald eyes.

* * *

><p>"Go talk to her."<p>

"I can't go talk to her; look at her! She's way out of my league!"

"You don't know that until you go talk to her, now stop being such a coward, you've been staring at her since she walked in!"

His friend pushed him forward, so that he nearly stumbled into the counter of the tavern, next to the pretty girl sitting at the counter. She turned her bright, emerald eyes on him. He blushed furiously.

"Hi," he said awkwardly.

"Hi," she replied pleasantly. "You're the boy who was checking me out, aren't you?"

He blushed harder. "No, I mean, yeah, uhm…I noticed that you were sitting alone, and I decided to…is this seat taken?"

The girl laughed and shook her head. "No, not at all, go ahead."

He pulled the chair out and sat down next to her. "You're very beautiful," he said, looking down at his hands.

It was the girl's turn to blush. "Thank you," she said. "You're rather cute as well. What's your name?"

"I'm Zyphre," he said. "And yours?"

The girl smiled at him, her green eyes flashing. "Lydia."

* * *

><p>That's it. This concludes Life Expectancies. I'm gonna miss it. #sobbingforever<p> 


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